Sonata Pathétique

Teaching journal.

I began teaching the first movement of Sonata Pathétique in my Form and Analysis course by getting students to compare interpretive decisions in recordings by Wilhelm Kempff and Li Yundi. Kempff slows down at the second theme, Li Yundi does not. Li Yundi seamlessly connects the development and recapitulation sections by not emphasizing the melodic C which marks the beginning of the new section, while in the left hand, the descending scale from the end of the development leads smoothly to the tonic pedal of the first theme—Kempff emphasizes the start of the new section by emphasizing that melodic C. These recordings helped me to give students a broad overview of the structure of sonata form (first and second themes are sounded, and later repeated).

As I began teaching the details of the movement (sections, subsections, harmonic features), I noticed that some students were barely following the class, while others were hanging on to every word I was saying. To remedy the situation, I designated the last 20 minutes of each class for students to write up their notes into essay form. I used this opportunity to check the understanding of students on the most essential concepts (e.g. the three-part structure of sonata form), sometimes instructing students on what exactly to write down when necessary. I found that other students took the initiative to clarify points with me during this time, which I also used to teach elements of essay writing (e.g. moving from the general, such as the overall 4-part structure of the exposition and its tonal plan, to the specifics, such as the structure of the 1st theme).

I took 7 weeks to complete teaching the first movement because of multiple rounds of repetition to ensure that all students had at least a basic grasp on the content, while also elaborating on more advanced concepts (e.g. the dominant preparation at the end of the development section is a prolongation of V). At the end, I made a chart of the sections and subsections for students and said that everyone must at least understand this chart. Those who are able should strive also to understand the motivic connections (between the introduction and Allegro) and harmonic ambiguity that characterize the movement (e.g. modal mixture resulting in the juxtaposition of E♭ and E♮ in the first theme).