Piano Sonata No. 3 (Chopin)

Piano Sonata No.3
by Frédéric Chopin
Chopin daguerreotype, c. 1849
Key	B minor
Opus	58
Form	Piano sonata
Composed	1844
Published	1845
Duration	About 23-30 minutes
Movements	Four

The Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, is a piano sonata in four movements composed by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin; it is the second of the composer's three mature sonatas(the others being the Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, and the Sonata for Piano and Cello in G minor, Op. 65). Completed in 1844 and published in 1845,^[1] the work is considered to be one of Chopin's most difficult compositions, both technically and musically.^{[citation needed][2][3]} The work has a structure similar to Piano Sonata No. 5 in F Sharp Minor, Op. 81 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel.^[4] A performance of the sonata lasts around 23 to 30 minutes, depending on whether the repetition of the exposition in the first movement is observed. The work is dedicated to Countess Élise de Perthuis.

The sonata consists of four movements, a similar structure to the second sonata, with a lyrical largo rather than a funeral march. Unlike the composer's first and second sonatas, the work ends in a major key.

9–13 minutes^{[note 1]}

The first movement, marked Allegro maestoso, is in a Type 2 sonata form^[5] in B minor and ⁴
₄ time. It starts with a downward arching phrase marked f(forte) followed by a sequence of chords^[6] to establish the tonic key of B minor.^[7] It is followed by the second theme in the relative major, D major. The melody from the second theme, placed over an Alberti bass pattern, bears a resemblance to Chopin's Nocturne Op.27 No. 2.^[6] Hugo Leichtentritt have noticed that that the first and second subjects hang together so closely they can be performed simultaneously, with slight textural adjustments.^{[note 2]} This exposition is quite long compared to other sonatas, and it may be for this reason many pianists choose to omit the repetition. Motives from the principal theme emerge in the development, which, unconventionally, returns to the second theme (as opposed to the first) for the recapitulation, which is in B major, leading to a powerful coda.

2–3 minutes

The second movement is a scherzo, marked Molto vivace, in E-flat major and ⁴
₄ time. It is in strict ternary form, characterised by continuous quaver runs in the right hand,^[3] before "pivoting" to the trio in B major.^[9] The trio consists of a more tranquil tune over a swinging accompaniment, reminiscent of Chopin's Scherzo No. 4, Op. 54.^[10] Unlike the scherzo of the B-flat minor sonata and other pieces by Chopin with the title, it is exceptionally short, typically lasting barely three minutes in performance and serves as a brief interlude for the entire piece.^[10]

8–9 minutes

The third movement is written in B major and ⁴
₄ time. Despite a thunderous introduction in dotted rhythm, the Largo is serene, almost nocturne-like^[11]. Slow melody in duple metre and dotted rhythms give this movement the characteristics of a funeral march, without the expression of one.^[12] An immensely beautiful melody is introduced, followed by a mellow and expansive trio in the subdominant key E major,^[11] characterised by flowing figuration in the right hand^[10] of an intensely harmonic line, separating the more cantabile outer sections in B major. It is the most musically profound of the movements,^[13] in terms of a sustained melody and innovative harmonic progression. The movement is written in ternary form.^[14]

4–5 minutes

The finale is a sonata-rondo,^[15] marked Presto, non tanto^{[note 3]}, in B minor and ⁶
₈ time. It opens with eight bars of a vigorous introduction, followed by a dramatic pause on a high dominant pedal point, and then the melody, marked agitato, enters.^[15][3] The first subject appears three times in total: for the first time, it is accompanied by triplets in the bass, for the second time, it is accompanied by four quavers in a three against four polyrhythm,^[17] and in the reprise, the melody is accompanied by groups of six semiquavers.^[3] In between the first subject appearance is the second subject, which consists of chords and runs; similar to the first movement, the harmonic shifts are rapid and often unexpected.^[10]

Its turbulent and dramatic introduction – a rising harmonic progression left hanging on a high dominant seventh – aside, the finale, in B minor, is pervaded by a "galloping" rhythm; emphasis in the melodic line on the first and third beats of each half-measure outlines the fifth through eighth degrees of a harmonic minor scale, in this case the F♯ and B, lending prominence to the augmented second between the sixth and raised seventh scale degrees, the G and A♯. The overall melody, chromatic yet rooted in the minor tonic, contributes a dark mood to these primary sections. A more triumphant second theme in B major, repeated twice in the movement's A–B–A–B–A form, appears quite suddenly at the conclusion of the first (likewise when repeated); eventually rising during fleet-fingered runs over a left-hand melody, it tumbles back to a dramatic restatement of the main theme in both of its appearances. The piece concludes in a jubilant B major coda.^[18]

Multiple recordings of the sonata are available. The first commercial electric recording was made by Percy Grainger in 1925. This has been described as "still one of the greatest accounts on disc ... The finale is simply dazzling".^[19] Other notable recordings include those by Martha Argerich, Arthur Rubinstein, Dinu Lipatti, Rafał Blechacz, Marc-André Hamelin, Janina Fialkowska and Evgeny Kissin.^[20][21]

Citations

Sources

• Davis, Andrew (2014-09-17). "Chopin and the Romantic Sonata: The First Movement of Op. 58". Music Theory Spectrum. 36 (2): 270–294. doi:10.1093/mts/mtu013. ISSN 0195-6167.
• Kraemer, Uwe (1991), 14 Waltzes/Piano Sonata No. 3, Sony
• Dhuvabhark, Janida (1992). A study of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, with suggestions for performance (Doctor of Musical Arts thesis). Ohio State University. OCLC 27972713. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
• Jonson, George Charles Ashton (1905). A Handbook to Chopin's Works. Doubleday.
• Lederer, Victor (2006). Chopin: a listener's guide to the master of the piano. Unlocking the Masters Series. Pompton Plains, N.J: Amadeus Press. ISBN 978-1-57467-148-3. OCLC 75999585.
• Leikin, Anatole (1994). Samson, Jim (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Chopin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521404907. ISBN 978-0-521-47752-9.
• Rosen, Charles (1988). Sonata forms (Revised ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-02658-0.
• Samson, Jim (2001). "Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.51099. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
• Walker, Alan (1973). "Chopin and Musical Structure: an analytical approach". In Walker, Alan (ed.). The Chopin Companion. Profiles of the Man and the Musician. The Norton library. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-00668-1.
• Walker, Alan (2018). Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times (1 ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-71437-6.

• Piano Sonata No. 3 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Piano Sonata No. 3 sheet music, Musopen