Beethoven’s Hidden Composition Lesson in the Pathétique Sonata

In this video, we analyze a strange passage from the Rondo Finale of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C minor, op 13, “Pathétique.“ Beethoven makes an allusion to the pedagogical species of strict counterpoint, sort of like an “Easter egg“ for musicians familiar with Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum. But this allusion ends up only being the first in a series of hints Beethoven lays for any would-be analyst attempting to understand this passage. Beethoven composes an essay about music, using music, on the topic of the circle of fifths, diatonic interval cycles, the relationships between the strict species, canonic imitation, and motivic development. 0:00 Intro/Species Counterpoint 4:48 Diatonic Interval Cycles 9:40 The Unruly Suspensions 13:32 Motivic Development Paavali Jumppanen, piano Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 https://creati