A performer must analyze a piece before performing it. Besides aiding in memorization, the analysis will give the performer direction. By identifying

Performers find information about the instruments composers used relevant. Beethoven received a new piano late in 1803. He was famous for complaining about the low quality of pianos. They had a much weaker sound and lacked the fullness of modern day pianos (Plantinga 280). But this new piano of 1803 had better sound and a larger range than that of his old pianos. Beethoven was so excited about the new expressive capabilities of his new piano, that he wrote two new sonatas shortly after receiving the piano. These sonatas, the Waldstein and the Appassionata, came after Beethoven had previously stopped writing sonatas. He was not happy with the capabilities of his previous pianos. Both sonatas explore new sounds and textures Beethoven could create with his new piano. For example, his new piano could play much softer than his old piano. In the Waldstein Sonata, Beethoven requires that large sections are played as quietly as possible. By understanding these nuances, a performer can often attempt to recreate those sounds on our modern piano.

the form and harmonic structure of a piece, a performer can find those moments of tension and release. For instance, at the end of the cadenza in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in c minor, Op. 37 on finds an interesting moment of tension. Cadenzas from the period generally ended on a dominant seventh chord before returning to the home key in the coda. This cadenza, however, uses the customary trill at the end of the cadenza to modulate to f minor, the sub-dominant chord of c minor; then it moves to the final cadence in c minor. By delaying the return to the home key, Beethoven increased the tension already created by the exceptionally long cadenza. Pieces are full of such moment and a performer must find all of them and discover how to best express each of them.

Analysis alone, however

Some topics in this essay:
Sonata Beethoven, Performing Music, Piano Concerto, Previous Op, Beethoven’s Op, Appassionata Beethoven, Analysis Historical, op 37, historical background, harmonic structure, stylistic period, performer analyze piece, nineteenth century music, historical background information, historically accurate performance, historically accurate, analyze piece, expressive capabilities, accurate performance, form harmonic, form harmonic structure, home key,