Title: FEATURES OF SONATA CYCLE OF THE MIDDLE PERIOD OF BEETHOVEN’S WORK
Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of Beethoven’s piano work, and more specifically to the sonatas of the middle period of creativity. The study provides a detailed analysis of the sonata cycles, Op. 26, 27, 31. The main purpose of the work is to study modifications, which the composer brought to the sonata cycle. The article uses methods of analysis, synthesis, analogy and biographical context. The results obtained allow us to state the composer’s dissatisfaction with the canons of the structure of the sonata cycle. He was constantly looking for new means of expression to embody his creative potential. At the beginning of his search, he decided to diminish the role of the sonata form in the sonata cycle. For example, sonatas No. 12, 13 are absolutely unique in their structure. These are sonatas without a shitty sign of a sonata cycle: a movement that is written in sonata form. With these extraordinary sonatas, Beethoven opens a new, experimental section of his work. In Sonata No. 12, he for the first time introduces a sonata cycle, a part written in the genre of a funeral march. In the future, a part written in the genre of a funeral march will be used by many composers of the era of romanticism (for example F. Chopin in Sonata #2, P.Tchaikovsky in Symphony #6). Sonata No. 13 (Sonata quasi una fantasia) is the first of the composer’s sonatas where the division into parts is rather arbitrary. This structure will be typical for many of Robert Schumann’s works. In the sonata cycles, Op. 31 Beethoven, on the contrary, increases the number of partsin the sonata cycle written in sonata form. In this cycle, the composer found a way to further modify the sonata form. Sonata No. 18 was the first in which one can feel the structure of a sonata cycle in two parts (which will become characteristic of Beethoven in the future). The article analyzes the ways of modifying the sonata cycle in Beethoven’s work, shows the connection between the composer’s personal experiences and the figurative content of the sonatas of this period. This work will help to better get acquainted with the different content of the works of the middle period of the composer’s work for a better understanding and performance.