CHAPTER 33 Personalizing the Conversation: Beethoven and the
Classical Sonata
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following was a favored sonata instrumentation during the late eighteenth century?
a. piano alone c. piano and cello
b. piano and violin d. All answers shown here.
2. How many piano sonatas did Beethoven compose?
a. nine c. twenty-seven
b. eighteen d. thirty-two
3. Beethoven supported himself through
a. teaching music lessons. c. giving public concerts.
b. publishing his music. d. all of the answers shown here.
4. Beethoven suffered from perhaps the most traumatic of all maladies for a musician. What was it?
a. blindness c. diabetes
b. deafness d. paralysis
5. Beethoven’s career is often divided into ________ compositional periods.
a. two c. four
b. three d. five
6. In his third compositional period, Beethoven
a. returned to the simple Classicism of his first period.
b. used more chromatic harmonies.
c. composed few works because of his deafness.
d. all of the above
7. How many symphonies did Beethoven write?
a. 5 c. 32
b. 9 d. 104
8. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 was subtitled Moonlight by
a. the publisher.
b. the composer.
c. the poet Rellstab, shortly after the composer’s death.
d. modern publishers.
9. Beethoven gave his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 the designation
a. Moonlight. c. adagio cantabile.
b. quasi una fantasia. d. con amabilità.
10. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata has ________ movements.
a. two c. four
b. three d. five
11. The dreamy first movement of the Moonlight Sonata features
a. a singing melody.
b. an accompaniment with arpeggios.
c. a modified strophic form.
d. All answers shown here.
12. The first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2
a. is in a modified song form.
b. is in strict sonata form.
c. is in variation form.
d. cannot be analyzed with any reference to sonata form.
13. The second movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 is
a. slow and expressive. c. a high-spirited scherzo and trio.
b. a gentle scherzo and trio. d. a rondo.
14. The third movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 is
a. filled with restless emotion. c. marked quasi una fantasia.
b. in simple rondo form. d. all of the answers shown here.
15. During the Classical era, the sonata was understood as a(n)
a. instrumental work for one or two instruments.
b. instrumental work for two or more instruments.
c. vocal work for one or two musicians.
d. instrumental work for four instruments.
16. Where was Beethoven born?
a. Germany c. England
b. France d. Italy
17. Which of Beethoven’s compositional periods utilized strong dynamic contrasts, explosive accents, and longer movements?
a. first c. third
b. second d. fourth
18. Which of Beethoven’s compositional periods reflected the Classical elements he inherited from Haydn and Mozart?
a. first c. third
b. second d. fourth
19. Beethoven’s career as a composer was aided by
a. the emergence of a middle-class public.
b. the growth of concert life.
c. music publishing.
d. All answers shown here.
20. What genre does Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 foreshadow?
a. “song without words” c. symphonic poem
b. program music d. the fantasy
21. The piano alone and the violin or cello and piano was the favored instrumentation for the sonata during the
a. Classical era. c. Renaissance.
b. Baroque era. d. None of the answers shown here.
22. Beethoven likened his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 to
a. a fantasy. c. an aria.
b. a song without words. d. moonlight.
23. Beethoven dedicated his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 to
a. his father. c. Countess Giulietta Guicciardi.
b. his nephew, Karl. d. the Queen of Austria.
24. In which city did Beethoven thrive?
a. Berlin c. Paris
b. Vienna d. Salzburg
25. What is the structure of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2?
a. modified song form, scherzo, sonata-allegro
b. sonata-allegro, scherzo, minuet and trio
c. theme and variations, scherzo, sonata-allegro
d. modified song form, sonata-allegro, scherzo
TRUE/FALSE
1. The sonata is an instrumental work in one movement for one or two solo instruments.
2. During the Classical era, the sonata was intended for professional musicians only.
3. Although Beethoven received financial support from music-loving aristocrats, he functioned primarily as a freelance, or independent,
composer.
4. Beethoven was unable to compose music after he became deaf.
5. Beethoven won great acclaim during his lifetime and died a famous and revered composer.
6. Beethoven is considered by some to be the supreme architect in music.
7. Someone other than Beethoven first suggested calling his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 the Moonlight Sonata.
8. Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 during his late style period.
9. The first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is full of stormy virtuosity.
10. The outer movements of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 share a common mood and expressive quality.
11. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is an example of program music.
12. Beethoven was born in Vienna.
13. During the Classical era, the piano alone or the violin or cello and piano were favored instruments for the sonata.
14. The first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is in sonata-allegro form.
15. Beethoven felt his Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 was the best work he had written to that point in his career.
16. Beethoven’s work endures because he pushed against the formal conventions of the Classical era.
ESSAY
1. How does Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata conform to and deviate from the standard multimovement form of the Classical era?
2. Describe the musical characteristics of each of Beethoven’s three creative periods.
3. Discuss how Beethoven broke from the patronage system.
4. Discuss how the Moonlight Sonata is representative of Beethoven’s strikingly individual style.