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Произведение также известно, как неоконченная соната C-dur или 'Eleonorem Sonate'.
Посв. Eleonore von Breuning, 1791-92
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
(Gianluca Cascioli)
The Piano Sonata in C major, WoO. 51 (Also called the Sonatina in C major, WoO. 51) is an incomplete composition for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven, believed to have been composed before he left Bonn, that was discovered amongst Beethoven's papers following his death. The composition was not published until 1830 by F. P. Dunst in Frankfurt, with a dedication to Eleonore von Breuning, along with the piano trios WoO. 38 and WoO. 39.
Beethoven is believed to have begun composing the sonata some time around 1790 - 1791 for Eleonore von Breuning on the basis of a letter to her from 1796 in which he announced that a sonata that he had promised to her some time previously would be sent to her. A recent evaluation opines that the sonata shares stylistic characteristics with the Piano Sonatas, WoO. 47, Nºs. 1-3.
While Alexander Thayer believed that the sonata was a complete three movement work by 1796, at the time of Beethoven's death the manuscript copy only contained the complete first movement and an incomplete second movement. For publication in 1830 Ferdinand Ries composed an additional eleven measures of music to complete the second movement.
Actually, from a chronologial viewpoint, this fragment should already be listed among and alongside Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas. With respect to this work, Thayer reports:
"Another Bonnian product, which has come down to us as only a fragment, is the Sonata in C major for Pianoforte, published by Dunst in Frankfurt, with a dedication to Eleonore von Breuning. In a letter to her in 1794 he writes: "I have a great deal to do or I would have transcribed the sonata I promised you long ago; it is a mere sketch in manuscript. . . . " (19) {For full letter see page 163 below] Eleonore von Breuning received it from him in 1796. In the copy sent to the publisher eleven measures at the end of the Adagio were lacking. These were supplied by Ferdinand Ries in the manner of Beethoven. There can scarcely be a doubt that Beethoven finished the Adagio, and it can be assumed that he also composed a last movement, which has been lost" (Thayer: 125 - 126).
Our translation of the relevant passage in Beethoven's letter to Eleonore von Breuning reads as follows:
"I have a lot to do, othewise, I would have copied the sonata for you that I had promised you a long time ago, in my manuscript, it is almost only a sketch, and it would have been difficult for the otherwise so skilled Paraquen to copy it" (translated from: Schmidt, Beethoven=Briefe: 6).
Solomon has this to say with respect to this fragment:
"The later, fragmentary Sonata in C, WoO 51, composed for Eleonore von Breuning, makes little attempt at thematic development; it is transparent and undemanding, with the lovely ornamental passagework of its Allegro reminiscent of the Italian style of Galuppi or Domenico Scarlatti. The graceful Adagio, however, recalls the early sonatas of the Viennese school" (Solomon: 46).
If we consider that Beethoven had intended this work for his Bonn friend Eleonore von Breuning, it is not surprising that this sonata is more "lovely" than "difficult".