Ludwig van Beethoven (German; 1770-1827)—Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 “Spring” (1800)

1. Allegro
2. Adagio molto espressivo 
3. Scherzo: Allegro molto 
4. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo 

Beethoven’s Enlightenment ideals were a mismatch for Vienna’s aristocracy, and yet he had no qualms befriending wealthy patrons to benefit from their financial support. One such patron was banking heir Count Moritz von Fries, who squandered his father's fortunes on a lavish lifestyle and an expensive love of the arts. Beethoven dedicated, among other works, his Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major to von Fries. Although the nickname “Spring” appeared after Beethoven’s death (probably a publisher’s marketing ploy), the name is apt for the spritely work.  

Beethoven wrote nine of his ten violin sonatas between 1797 and 1803, and expanded on Mozart’s model of treating both instruments as equal partners in the work. This can be heard immediately as both players trade melody and accompaniment duties with the first theme and throughout the big opening Allegro.

The tender Adagio features lyrical songlike melodies traded between the two voices who exchange flourishes. The brief scherzo is a lighthearted palette cleanser with cheeky echoes and a boisterous trio. The charismatic Rondo tightly combines elements of the whole work with a lyrical playfulness and adventurous digressions.

Beethoven—Cello Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 5 (1796)

1. Adagio sostenuto e espressivo – Allegro molto più tosto presto 
2. Rondo allegro 

Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 to begin a career as a fiery pianist, quickly gaining support from the city’s aristocratic elite. Four years later, he set out on his only performance tour, traveling through Prague, Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin with Prince Lichnowsky, who funded the trip and made important introductions. During their two-month summer stay in Berlin, Beethoven socialized with King of Prussia and cello enthusiast Friedrich Wilhelm II, to whom he dedicated several new works for his favorite instrument, including the Opus 5 set of two cello sonatas.

Generally, the sonata would have featured the keyboard with the additional instrument offering harmonic support, often mimicking the left hand of the keyboard. This appears to be the case in the opening bars of the first Cello Sonata, until the cellist breaks away to present the first theme. In the novel treatment of the cellist as an independent operator, Beethoven composed perhaps the first modern cello sonata.

The cello’s capacity for lyrical range is on display in the introductory Adagio, seamlessly shifting from cheery to brooding. Beethoven performed the work with Wilhelm II’s court cellist at the palace, and one can imagine Beethoven at the keyboard performing acrobatics in the Allegro. The cellist carries less of the load here, yet provides singing, whimsical melodies with the occasional flourish, as with an electric Presto that launches into a final return of the theme. There is no shortage of viruosic excitement from both musicians in the Rondo finale that opens with the recurring theme that sways gently, and each alternating section more ebullient than the last, save for the hushed Adagio at the end, finally interrupted with fireworks.

Beethoven—8 Variations on a Theme by Count Waldstein, WoO 67 (1782)

Count Waldstein was the first aristocrat to notice Beethoven’s talents. Living in Bonn, he was an amateur pianist and composer who encouraged the young Beethoven, helping secure his travels to Vienna to study with Haydn. Some of Beethoven’s earliest compositions were written for Count Waldstein, including the set of variations for piano four hands which the two invariably played together.

Lisztomania swept through Europe in the 1840s as the virtuosic Hungarian performed more than one thousand concerts before he retired at the height of his career at 35. He rarely returned home during this period, making his 1846 Hungarian tour especially celebrated. He was greeted by actor, playwright, and composer Béni Egressy, who had written the celebratory Fogadj Isten to welcome Liszt to Pest.

In total, Liszt composed 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, with numbers 3-15 being published in 1853, while he was employed as the Kapelmeister in Weimar. They were composed as early as 1846. Number 10 is dedicated to Béni Egressy and uses some of the melodies he had written for Liszt.

Liszt—Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 (1853)

The sixth rhapsody is dedicated to Count Antoine of Appony, the Hungarian ambassador to France for two decades before his retirement in 1848. Liszt would have socialized with the Count during his many visits to Paris.

The Rhapsody opens with a lively melody from Béni Egressy’s 1843 publication of Hungarian folk songs that Liszt referenced frequently. What follows is the Hungarian dance csárdás, which begins with the slow lassú, then the fast friska that becomes increasingly raucous.

Liszt—Bénédiction et serment, S.396 for Four Hands (1853)

Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt met on the eve of the premiere of the former’s groundbreaking Symphonie Fantastique (1830). The two remained lifelong friends who, along with Richard Wagner, led the vanguard of musical thought.

In 1851, while Liszt worked in Weimar, he revised and revived Berlioz’s opera Benvenuto Cellini, a flop at its 1838 premiere. Liszt sourced two melodies from the opera for a keyboard meditation titled Bénédiction et serment that he published in 1853.

-Chaz Stuart, 2025