Piano Sonata No. 3: A Remarkable Combination

The first movement of my Piano Sonata No. 3 resembles the exposition of a classical sonata, except that in this case the materials will not be developed and recapitulated until the third and final movement.  The materials in the second (slow) movement are also woven into the last movement, so in that sense the second movement can be viewed as an extension to the exposition. But in this post we are concerned only with the themes from the first movement — and with what happens to them later.

After a lengthy introduction, the principal theme enters at bar 37 in F major, which is the central key of this sonata.

The ascending leaps give this theme a character that might be described as either “striving” or “heroic.”  Notice how the four tones outlined by those leaps (marked here with blue asterisks) create a rising zigzag pattern, which arpeggiates the F major triad.

The second theme enters at bar 64.

This second theme is in the remote secondary key of D-flat major and has a tender, peaceful character, which contrasts with the principal theme.  The second theme is characterized by downward leaps, which create another zigzag pattern, this time descending rather than ascending, and arpeggiating the tonic triad within D-flat major.  (At the end of the movement, there is also a closing theme that develops from the second theme, inheriting its zigzag leaps but much more agitated in mood.)

There is a close kinship between the first and second themes, despite their contrasting character and remote key relationship.  No doubt that kinship contributes to the cohesiveness of the whole composition.  The kinship can be clarified by comparing the zigzag patterns in the two themes:

Here I have copied the principal theme’s zigzag pattern onto the top staff, while the secondary theme’s zigzag pattern has been transposed into the home key of F major and placed in the bass register on the bottom staff.  Note how the two patterns not only sound harmonious together, but also show a pleasing contrary motion.  That leads to an intriguing practical possibility.  Is it possible that the two themes could work in counterpoint with each other?

Some twenty minutes later, near the end of the coda of the last movement, that contrapuntal potential is in fact realized.

Beginning in bar 202, the principal theme is realized by the right hand, while the second theme appears in a tenor voice and is shared between the hands.  Elsewhere within the same coda, the themes from the second movement are interlaced contrapuntally with both themes from the first movement.

It should be evident that contrapuntal relationships such as these do not usually arise by accident, nor do are they likely to result from a purely intuitive approach to composing.  They are planned in advance, which is why planning and conscious analysis play key roles in the creation of a well-integrated composition.

In the video below, the principal theme begins around 1:42 (b. 37 of the first movement).  The second theme begins around 3:21 (b. 64).  The contrapuntal combination of the two described above begins near the end of the whole sonata, around 23:05 (b. 202 of the third movement), although it is presaged four bars earlier.