Piano Sonata No. 28

Quantum physics has its Standard Model, which describes the interactions between particles. Mathematics has the notion of standard deviation, which determines the distance from an average. Music, on the other hand, invented sonata form. Described by Adolph Bernhard Marx in the mid-19th century and still taught in schools today, sonata form is a model that can only be applied to the letter of the law in a few particularly tedious cases, without exception. Terms such as exposition, development, secondary theme and recapitulation are still used and seem indispensable, but for one reason and one reason only: they are the abstract criteria by which the particularities of a work can be aptly described - usually, at least.

So it came as no surprise when, in 1815 and 1816, Beethoven premiered his Sonata op. 101.
"otherwise". He shatters the conventions of a still young age, and forces Marx to laconically observe that here, "the name sonata is used for a form that departs seriously from the ordinary sonata" (Beethoven. Leben und Schaffen. 2nd edition, 1863, vol. 2 p. 216). This applies first and foremost to the sequence of movements, with a formally transformed initial movement, a lively march and a slow movement that acts as a sort of long introduction to the finale (including a reminiscence of the main movement). The rest of the work follows suit, with elements of fantasy, recitative and toccata, mixed in with writing that is sometimes expressly contrapuntal: the trio in the march is in the form of a canon, and the development of the finale is a long fugue. Finally, Beethoven broadens his horizons by including detailed indications of tempo and expression, written in German. Finally, the cyclical nature of the writing makes this sonata a work well ahead of its year of creation.

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