These fabulous little compositions are sparkling and full of invention. They are some of the most challenging repertoire of the late classical period. They are full of majesty and beauty. The key changes that are in these pieces are very many and used for great invention. I love the way each of the bagatelles have a distinct ending, some long and some short. There is much in the way of technique that traces back to Bach and his inventions.
This opus was composed around 1801 or 1802. It has these six sections that each could have stood on their own. Each has it’s dance like and flowing qualities. The one movement in C major is a favorite of mine. I like it for its staccato ending and repeated C major chords. It is fabulous how each song sounds like a stand-alone piece. Why put the songs together? To make a longer program—perhaps. The Allegro Non Troppo is the one I am talking about—one of two movements in C Major.
The piece takes a turn with the D major movement. It sounds as though the harmony is going to go into G major but it stays on a base tone of D, which is very interesting. The last movement is a fabulous grandeur movement. Talk about a flourishing finish. The movement starts and finishes in a flash! It’s a spinning song that spirals from tonality to tonality until finally going into it’s final tonality in A major. The last movement really is a type of fast dance and gallop. It is too fast for my fingers, but the pianist in the video really pulls this off with exceptional accuracy. There are bits of scattered chromaticism followed by the intense thundering of the A flat major chords in the end.
The Bagatelles are one set of two or three that Beethoven had time to compose in between his bigger works. These are definitely tasty exercises to engage in if you’re an intermediate to advanced pianist.
