Opus 78 Piano Sonata in F sharp major
I) Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo – II) Allegro assai
OPUS 78 – Sonata in F-sharp major for piano, Op. 78
Dedicated to Therese Brunsvik, 1809, published in Leipzig by Breitkopf & Härtel, November 1810. GA No. 147 (Series 16/24) – B. 78 – KH. 78 – L. III, p. 186 – No. 78 – T. 150
The original manuscript is preserved at the Beethoven-Haus (Bodmer collection). No sketches are known to exist.
Czerny wrote that Beethoven once remarked: “People are always talking about the Sonata in C-sharp minor, but I have in fact written better. The Sonata in F-sharp major is something quite different!”
This judgement—at first glance rather curious—might be understood when related to the particular character of the Sonata, and interpreted as a recognition of a unique form of inspiration: not one born from any tragic or passionate state of mind, but instead turned inward, towards a feeling of tender, domestic sweetness or liveliness. In expressing this mood, Beethoven may well have felt he had achieved a particularly refined level of artistry.
Much has been said about Beethoven’s love for Therese Brunsvik, and of a supposed plan for marriage which the composer himself is thought to have later abandoned. Her name has also been listed among the possible recipients of the “Letter to the Immortal Beloved”. The uncertainties that still surround this story are well known. Yet, setting aside all conjecture of this sort, it seems to us that the music here speaks its own language of grace—even if not entirely devoid of moments of gentle obstinacy or dialectical contrast. It is within this character that one can recognise an individuality which more than one writer has sought to deny—such as De Lenz, who referred to it as a “little piece (…) fashioned by Beethoven’s hand, but not his genius”, or D’Indy, who went so far as to describe it as “insipid”.
Among the various other two-movement piano sonatas composed by Beethoven, this one occupies a distinct place of its own. It differs from the youthful sonatas of Op. 49, from the somewhat curious Op. 54, and naturally from the monumental final sonata, Op. 111. It perhaps comes closest—in miniature form, though with significant differences—to Op. 90. The first movement (Allegro ma non troppo), in which the expression of tenderness is particularly concentrated, is preceded by a slow four-bar introduction (Adagio cantabile). This introduction is connected to the movement not so much through any clearly defined thematic relationship—those are vague and debatable—but rather through an expressive affinity.
The second movement (Allegro vivace), more animated in character, opens with a theme—essentially a refrain motif in rondo form—marked by a somewhat abrupt conciseness. This theme recurs always in the same guise, woven between various episodes featuring repeated notes or short phrases in pairs, with a character one might describe as a kind of charming frivolity. Only at the very end does it develop briefly, shaping the conclusion of the piece.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: Opus 78 Sonate (Fis-dur) für Klavier Widmung: Therese Gräfin Brunsvik de Korompa NGA VII/4 AGA 147 = Serie 16/24
Origin and Publication: The autograph fair copy, written in Vienna, is dated 1809. The music catalogue of Archduke Rudolph lists the available copy in a note: “Sonata comp, im 8ber 1809 MS” (Brandenburg/Rudolph p. 156; see also p. 166). The original London edition was published together with Op. 79 at the end of August 1810 by Clementi, Banger, Collard, Davis & Collard. The original Leipzig edition followed around November of the same year, issued by Breitkopf & Härtel.
Works Op. 73–81a and 82, as well as WoO 136, 137, and 139, were part of an agreement between Beethoven and Muzio Clementi (likely during Clementi’s stay in Vienna from 1808 to 1810), aimed at publishing the works either as original editions in London and Leipzig, or for publication in Vienna.
On 19 September 1809, Beethoven wrote—probably in response to a request from Breitkopf & Härtel: „ich geb mich nicht gern mit Klavier Solo Sonaten ab, doch verspreche ich ihnen einige“ (BGA 400). He kept his promise, as among the works offered to the publisher on 4 February 1810 were also „3 KlawierSoloSonaten [Op. 78, 79 e 81a] – Nb. wovon die 3te aus 3 stücken, Abschied, Abwesenheit, das widersehn besteht, welche man allein für sich heraus geben müste“ (BGA 423).
Beethoven is believed to have proposed to Muzio Clementi—who had purchased the works for England at the beginning of 1810—that the two sonatas Op. 78 and Op. 79 be published under a single opus number. (Clementi assigned them the opus number 63.) In August 1810, the composer wrote to Breitkopf & Härtel: „was die zwei Sonaten angeht, so geben sie jede allein heraus, Oder wollen sie sie zusammen herausgeben, so sezen sie auf die aus dem g dur [Op. 79] Sonate facile Oder Sonatine, […] welches sie auch thun können im Fall sie sie zusammen herausgeben“ (BGA 469, dated 24 September 1810).
Dedication: Therese, Countess Brunsvik de Korompa, was born on 27 July 1775 in Pressburg (Bratislava) and died in 1830. She was the eldest sister of Franz de Paula (1777–1849/50; see Op. 57), Josephine, widow of Deym and later married to Stackelberg (1779–1821; see WoO 74), and Charlotte (1782–1840/43). All four Brunsvik siblings were close friends of Beethoven. Therese remained unmarried and, in later years, devoted herself to raising children in the spirit of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, whom she had met in Switzerland in 1808. In 1828, under the pseudonym “Angyalkert” — Engelsgarten — she founded the first Hungarian orphanage in Ofen, which would later be followed by others.
Therese and her sister Josephine received piano lessons from Beethoven in 1799. He later dedicated to them the four-hand variations WoO 74. In the list of subscribers to Op. 1, she is also referred to as “Comtesse Brunswick”.
The date of the first performance is unknown. On 3 February 1811, Archduke Rudolph performed at one of the subscription concerts organised by Prince Lobkowitz at his palace, „eine Sonate von Beethoven welche nicht lang war und sehr neue wenn auch nicht immer schöne Sätze enthielt“, as recorded by Johann Nepomuk Chotek in his diary. Rita Steblin suspects this may have been the Sonata Op. 78, which is both relatively brief and relatively recent (Steblin/Chotek p. 125).
Sketches for the work are lost. Fair-copy autograph of the work: D-BNba, H. C. Bodmer Collection, HCB Mh 9. Date: “1809”. Title: folio 1 recto: “Sonata / 1809 / N= 2”. 8 folios; folio 1 recto contains the title, and 15 pages contain the musical text. Paper: horizontal format, 22.5 x 31 cm, 8 staves.
Provenance: from the publisher’s archive at Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig. — Hedwig von Holstein, née Salomon, Leipzig. — Max Kalbeck, Vienna (Frimmel/Kalbeck p. 113 no. 3). — C. G. Boerner, Leipzig (Auction Catalogue 92, May 1908, no. 11). — Wilhelm Heyer Collection, Cologne (Kinsky/Heyer no. 219). — Karl Ernst Henrici & Leo Liepmannssohn, Berlin (Heyer Auction Catalogue I, 6/7 December 1926, no. 26). — Hans Conrad Bodmer, Zurich. — Acquired in 1956.
