Beethoven: Sonata in A major for violin and piano, Op. 47 (‘Kreutzer’)

Introduction

Beethoven's ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata Op. 47 stands out from his other accompanied sonatas on account of its size, virtuoso demands, and the relationship it fosters between the violin and the piano. Its unusual subtitle, ‘Sonata per il Piano-forte ed un Violino obligato, scritta in uno stile molto concertante, quasi come d'un concerto’ (Sonata for piano and obbligato violin, composed in a decidedly concertante style, as though a concerto), indicates a departure from Beethoven's previous efforts in the accompanied sonata and confirms the elevation of the violinist from a subordinate participant to an equal partner, initiated in Op. 24 and the Op. 30 set. The original jocular dedication was to the mulatto violinist George Polgreen Bridgetower (?1779–1860), who had met Beethoven through the good offices of Prince Lichnowsky and whose unique artistry and ‘bold and extravagant style of playing’ clearly inspired the sonata's concertante character. The dedication was later changed in favour of Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766–1831), allegedly because of a quarrel between Beethoven and Bridgetower over a mutual female acquaintance. Beethoven considered the French violinist ideally suited to the work, but Berlioz later reported that Kreutzer ‘could never bring himself to play this outrageously unintelligible composition’.

The change of dedication in favour of Kreutzer may have been an attempt to facilitate Beethoven's projected move to Paris (c.1803). However, Beethoven is also believed to have used Kreutzer's Grande Sonate as a model for his Op. 47.