Beethoven was perhaps the most influential Classical composer, leaving a lasting legacy and remaining a hard act to follow for years after his musical career. His works encompass a wide range of emotion and skill, and have cultural significance even today. Two notable works by Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 9 (“Kreutzer”) and Violin Sonata No. 5 (“Spring”), demonstrate his ability to compose music that is emotionally expressive as well as music that generates excitement in his audience. Beethoven manipulates form, consonance, dynamics, note ranges, and interactions between instruments in “Spring” mvt. 2 and “Kreutzer” mvt. 3 to establish a melancholy feeling in “Spring” mvt. 2, and uses these same musical features to inspire a more frenzied and excited feeling in “Kreutzer” mvt. 3.

“Spring” mvt. 2 supplements its steady, quiet violin part with a similar piano accompaniment as it follows a rondo form with multiple placid episodes interspersed between themes. The tempo is slow, and the movement is characterized by subdued dynamics, with occasional moments of crescendo and decrescendo, like at 4:09 and 5:10, which create a sense of gentle ebb and flow. The volume is more constant than the “Kreutzer” movement 3, drawing the listener into the relaxing theme. In instances like 2:01, where the volume changes more suddenly, the piano and violin play only one note at this higher volume before retreating to the established volume. Most of the piece, however, stays relatively close to one, quiet established volume level, like from 2:25 to 3:50. This removes any surprises for listeners, with the piece progressing almost like a lullaby, with soft, repeating parts.

This effect is heightened by the lack of large jumps between notes. A majority of the piece consists of notes fairly similar to one another, and the piano part lacks large intervals between notes, often playing portions of scales in the background to support the violin part. The violin part also generally does not stray far from the lower notes, only playing delicate, high notes in instances like 2:41. This, combined with the lack of large jumps between notes, helps create a relaxed atmosphere. Here, the rondo form assists in establishing the affect, as the repetition of the theme makes the listener feel more accustomed to it.

The violin and piano also work with one another in this movement, mostly playing similar parts. The violin generally stays in the spotlight, with the piano playing a quieter part to provide a background setting for the violin part. This creates a sense of unity between the two instruments and allows the listener to sink into the music for the most part, unsurprised by any unexpected chromaticism. While there is limited use of dissonance, this is sparse as the rest of the piece focuses on crafting a comfortable atmosphere with harmonic agreement and consonance. For example, at 5:14, the piano and violin play almost the exact same notes as each other, and when the piano does not play the same notes as the violin, it plays a transposed version of the melody that harmonizes well with the violin’s initial melody.

“Kreutzer” mvt. 3, on the other hand, is characterized by the brisk notes between the violin and piano parts, prevailing in its main themes and the development. It has a fast tempo with many disconnected notes. The first theme first features interactions resembling call and response between the violin and the piano, such as at 0:21 and 4:27. Then, the violin and piano trade off passages of rapid notes as the piece progresses. The violin does not necessarily hold the spotlight throughout the piece, such as at 1:58 where the piano again has a short solo and plays a unique melody. When the violin and piano are not playing solo parts, they both have busy parts which overlap to create a frenetic feel, like at 3:21. During the development, the violin part contains longer notes, but the fast piano notes played underneath, which can be heard at 5:01, keep the piece moving at a fast pace until a theme is returned to again.

Throughout the movement, the piano and violin parts also alternate between soft and exciting parts, which create contrast. For example, the music softens at 5:00 during the development, only to crescendo at the energetic theme. These virtuosic parts, when placed next to quieter, slower ones, heighten the energy in the more exciting parts as the audience has to reacclimate to the higher energy. This technique is also very effective at 7:00 as the music switches between a soft, delicate sound and a louder, rougher sound.

“Kreutzer” also features more dissonance, using chromaticism and sudden changes in tonality. For example, the chromaticism at 0:12, 1:21, and 1:48 creates a feeling of tension, keeping the listener on edge. The coda also includes a gritty violin tone and low piano notes at 7:25, creating a boisterous timbre, which wakes the audience up—if this were to be placed in the theme, it is likely the affect of the piece itself would become more agitated than excited. Since these notes only make an appearance once, it serves as both a mild surprise and primer for the end of the piece, riling the audience up before a grand finish. The low piano notes resume at the end and cause the piece to conclude with exuberance. The contrast between the theme and other parts of the piece, along with the crescendo at the end, heighten the excitement of the ending, which is a significant contributing factor to the impact this piece has, as it leaves the audience almost in shock after it abruptly splits from the theme and ends. Both the chromaticism and the contrast in timbre give “Kreutzer” its signature exciting feel.

In addition, “Kreutzer” features a wide range of notes with large jumps in between, which can be heard throughout the piece, but especially at moments like 6:30, where the violin and piano are playing notes in different ranges, and the violin also transitions lower to higher notes and vice versa. The large intervals between notes being played simultaneously as well as notes adjacent to each other keeps the audience at the edge of their seats, as opposed to “Spring” with its soothing effect on the audience.

While “Spring” and “Kreutzer” are both widely respected pieces of music by Beethoven, they have very different affects which are carefully crafted by the composer himself by manipulating musical stylistic elements such as form, consonance, dynamics, note ranges, and interactions between instruments to convey to the audience the emotions that go along with each piece. “Kreutzer” inspires an excited feeling in the listener, including rapid notes in the melody and dissonance in the interactions between the piano and violin parts to capture the audience’s attention. “Spring,” on the other hand, includes notes which are held for longer periods of time in the rhythm for the melody and features more consonance and unison between the piano and violin parts, which invoke a placid feeling in the listener. Both pieces, while different, showcase Beethoven’s skill as a composer and are certainly contributors to his lasting fame, even today.