A Sonata with the Wrong Name In the spring of 1803, the Afro-European violinist George Bridgetower arrived in Vienna and took the city by storm with his daring and brilliant virtuosity, oversized personality, and zest for the city’s famous aristocratic evening parties. Prince Karl Lichnowsky, the passionate and loyal patron of Ludwig van Beethoven, introduced the visiting celebrity to the composer and the two became fast friends. Many a bottle of wine and pint of Viennese grog were shared between Bridgetower and Beethoven, along with a tremendous amount of respect for each other’s art.  Beethoven had been sketching a new violin sonata and was eager to perform with Bridgetower, so a concert was arranged: May 22nd would see the premiere of his Violin Sonata, Op. 47. In the end, the concert was delayed for two days as Beethoven hastily finished the expansive first movements. To further expedite the sonata’s completion, the composer used a discarded finale from an earlier violin sonata as the final movement. As the legend goes, the ink had not yet dried on the piece and Bridgetower was forced to sight-read over Beethoven’s shoulder for the early morning performance. What was created in great haste was a work that was unprecedented in its virtuosity, length, and dramatic impact. While many musicologists point to the third symphony of Beethoven’s, the so-called Eroica symphony, as the ushering in of the Romantic Period in western music, the Violin Sonata, Op. 47 ushered in the language and scope of the Eroica symphony.  While the sonata should be rightly be titled “Bridgetower,” the violinist and composer had a falling out shortly after the premiere. As the story goes, the pair were out drinking and Bridgetower made a disparaging remark about a woman that Beethoven admired and the dedication to Bridgetower was angrily retracted. Beethoven then hastily and randomly dedicated the sonata to the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, whom he had met in Vienna in 1798. Kreutzer wanted nothing to do with the sonata as he was thoroughly baffled by the work and declined to learn it or perform it. But the name stuck. –Jesse Holstein, Violinist Join us this Thursday, February 21 to hear violinist Jesse Holstein perform the Kreutzer Sonata with guest pianist Jeff Louie. Also, violinist Tessa Sacramone performs Brahms’ touching Regenlied Sonata. Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 1, Op. 78 G Major Thursday, February 21 at 7pm |
