Miranda Jones
MusT 311
Analysis Paper
Ludwig Van Beethoven composed many piano sonatas including his Sonata
Pathétique Op. 13. The sonata begins in C minor. This sonata is in sonata form. It begins with an introduction from measures one through ten. The first four measures are in sentence form. Measure two is simple measure one transposed. Measures three and four are the continuation phrase. In measure four the tonality changes to Eb major, the III of c minor. At the beginning of measure six the tonality changes back to the home key, c minor.
Measure eleven is where the main theme begins with a perfect authentic cadence in c minor. In measure nineteen the transition begins right after the perfect authentic cadence. The transition can be separated into two different phrases. The first phrase is from measure nineteen to measure thirty-five. Beethoven slightly cycles away from the home key here and spends a little bit of time in the dominant, G. In measure thirty there is a strong half-cadence. The second phrase of the transition begins around measure thirty-five. These two phrases of the transition are simply phrase groups cycling through different keys.
The secondary theme begins in measure fifty-one. This theme begins in Eb minor, even though the listener may expect Eb major. The secondary theme continues until measure eighty-nine. Throughout the first secondary theme, Beethoven uses sequencing to cycle through different keys. For example, in measures eighty-one through eighty-four he cycles through C, F, and Bb. After the cycling, the expected Eb major arrives clearly with a perfect authentic cadence in measure eighty-nine. Also in

measure eighty-nine is the start of the second secondary theme. The phrase structure from measure eighty-nine to ninety-four is a period structure. Measures eighty-nine and ninety are the antecedent phrase. The basic idea returns again in measure ninetyone. The consequent phrase is from measure ninety-two through ninety-four.
The closing section in the exposition begins in measure 121 with a perfect authentic cadence on beat one. Just five measures later the retransition begins. The whole exposition section of the piece is repeated.
In between the exposition and the development there is a return of the slow introduction. This briefly lasts for four measures.
The development section begins in measure 137. In a traditional development section the composer tends to alternate between different keys, tonal centers, themes using sequencing and fragmentation. The development of Beethoven’s Sonata
Pathétique begins in E minor. The first couple measures of the development are a fragmentation of the main theme and the slow introduction. The development continues to use bits and pieces of the main theme. Beethoven does indeed use sequencing throughout the development of this sonata. The sequencing begins in measure 149. The type of sequencing Beethoven uses here is the circle of fifth sequencing from C to F to B.
The recapitulation begins in measure 194. The recapitulation begins with a restatement of the main theme. The recapitulation states all previous themes, in smaller segments. Everything in the recapitulation is in smaller fragments that previously stated in the exposition. The restatement of the main theme only lasts for eight measures before the transition begins. There is a perfect authentic cadence in c

minor on the downbeat of measure 203 where the transition begins. The transition contains more sequencing.
In measure 221 the first secondary theme is restated. The key center here is the subdominant of F minor. Beethoven begins to find his way back to the home key by sequencing in the circle of fifths. Once again his sequencing begins with C and goes to F,
Bb, Eb, and Ab in measures 245-249. The second secondary theme begins in measure
253. The secondary theme is back in the home key of c minor. The secondary theme is stated again in the recapitulation in measure 265, in c minor. The closing statement of the recapitulation begins in measure 284. This is yet another statement of the main theme. There is a strong perfect authentic cadence in this measure in c minor.
The coda to this sonata begins in measure 295. Measures 295-298 are another statement of the slow introduction. In this statement there is no held long note on the downbeats of each measure.
The final closing statement of this movement begins in measure 299. This is another statement of the main theme. The movement finally ends with a final perfect authentic cadence in c minor.
Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique, Op. 13 is in sonata form. Beethoven uses sequencing quite often throughout this sonata. Many of the phrases used in this sonata are phrase groups. There are a few sentences and periods. The exposition has an introduction and states one main theme. The main theme is followed by two transitions. After the transition, the first secondary theme is stated, followed by a second. The development modulates through a couple different keys. Beethoven also uses sequencing to change the tonality quite often by using the circle of fifths. The

recapitulation restates all of the previous themes stated in the exposition. The main theme is stated, and then followed by the two secondary themes. Beethoven also uses sequencing in the recapitulation. The recapitulation does not last very long before the closing section begins.
This sonata closes the whole piece with a coda. The coda begins by restating the slow introduction, once again. There is a slight difference in this introduction. The held notes played on the downbeat are left out of this statement. After the introduction the tempo is back to the original theme tempo, while stating the main theme. The piece comes to a final conclusion with a strong perfect authentic cadence in c minor.