Perspectives on Beethoven’s Middle and Late Periods: Developments in his Writing for Cello in the Op. 69 and Op. 102 Sonatas

This article explores the developments in Beethoven’s writing for the cello in the Op. 69 and Op. 102 sonatas, with the premise that they reflect the overall shift in his style from his Middle to Late Periods. In order to place the cello sonatas in context, the traditional framing of Beethoven’s work into three phases is described and well as the current state of cello writing at the turn of the century. The cello part in the Op. 69 sonata is then discussed, with attention to the role of the cello as compared to the piano and to the interaction between the two instruments. The Op. 102 sonatas are presented, also with attention to the interaction between the instruments. The suggestion is made that these sonatas illustrate Beethoven’s increasingly radical treatment of form, a treatment that results in challenging instrumental writing that, while not as gratifying as that of his Middle Period, nonetheless allows him to attain a new kind of expressivity as well as formal complexity.