Artificial intelligence continues to be a worry for all of us, and with good reason. A few good results blind many people to the fact that most of the time A.I. makes very basic mistakes and it’s very difficult for A.I. to correct itself. And yet CEOs insist on replacing everyone with A.I.
I’ve used A.I., and the image above is an example of such use. I deliberately went to a “generative” A.I. website, typed a prompt, something about Beethoven with the Easter bunny, and it produced a usable image that I first used last year. I’ve found that A.I. can give usable results when you’re not emotionally invested in the results being any good.
But I’ve also used A.I. without expressly wanting to. Search engines like Bing and Google force feed you A.I. slop for almost every query. Like the other day, I was wondering about the una corda pedal on the piano.
Beethoven was apparently very meticulous about indicating una corda and tre corde in his piano music, though that perception might depend on whose edition you’re using. Chi-Fang Cheng’s thesis at Manchester, running almost five hundred pages, has way more detail on this than I’ve had time to read.
Without considering that the pedals on the pianos of Beethoven’s day might have worked differently from today’s pianos, I queried Bing about how to play una corda in Beethoven’s music, and as usual, the A.I. summary appeared before all search results. Even if you’re unfamiliar with what the pedals on any piano do, try reading this and see if you can spot anything that is a little bit odd about how the A.I. explains it.
Depress the una corda pedal
To switch from 1 corda to 3 corde in Beethoven's compositions, the pianist must depress the una corda pedal, which shifts the mechanism from three strings to two strings. This change is indicated by the marking "tre corde" (three strings) and "due corde" (two strings). The pianist should observe the timing and release the pedal when the marking appears, ensuring a smooth transition in sound and dynamics. Beethoven's use of the una corda pedal is a testament to the pianist's skill and the composer's intent, which can be found in the score or through interpretation.
I don’t remember ever seeing “due corde” in any piano sheet music. And isn’t that last sentence a really odd place to use the word “testament”?
I also had a question about a specific Beethoven piano sonata. Did Beethoven actually give the name “Pastoral” to his Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Opus 28? Bing’s answer:
Yes
Yes, Beethoven did not name the sonata "Pastoral" himself. The title "Pastoral" or "Pastorale" was first coined by a London publisher, Broderip & Wilkinson, and became known through A. Cranz's publishing of Beethoven's work. While Beethoven's publishers often used titles without consulting him, it is speculated that the title reflects the serene mood of the sonata, which is often interpreted as a reflection of nature and calmness.
It’s as if the A.I. tried very hard to give me the answer it thought I wanted to get. But if it had succeeded in that, the answer would’ve started with something more along the lines of “you’re right to doubt that Beethoven gave the sonata that name...”
The first search result is the Wikipedia article for the sonata. I’m always skeptical of Wikipedia, but at least this particular article does not start with a confusing error of Boolean logic. I have not been able to corroborate Wikipedia’s citation for the nickname, but I did find an article by Artur Pizarro for BBC Radio 3 that is pertinent. The sonata’s
easygoing manner and geniality earned it the nickname of 'Pastoral' from his Hamburg publisher, a soubriquet that becomes particularly clear once one gets to the rustic charm of the finale.
But to me, there’s something eerie about this sonata that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Maybe this rewrite will help you hear what I’m getting at.
Even if you do hear what I’m getting at, you might be able to unhear it, and enjoy this sonata in the character that its nickname suggests it has.
All those repeated D’s in the bass are structurally significant. I actually don’t see as many “una corda” indications in this sonata as I have seen in Beethoven’s prior sonatas. The first one I see in this one is well into the first movement, lasting through a short Adagio passage before being cancelled with “tre corde” for the recapitulation. At least this is the case in the Casella edition.
Beethoven switches to D minor for an Andante that bristles with nervousness.
Pizarro describes the Scherzo as “one of Beethoven’s most humorous.”
In the finale, I hear a logical conclusion to the sonata. I don’t really hear the pastoral character.
Although I didn’t have as many choices for this one as with the Moonlight Sonata, I did have some choices besides the pianists who’ve posted all of their Beethoven sonata performances on YouTube. For this sonata, I went with Schaghajegh Nosrati, a pianist I had never heard of before.
I alluded to earlier that the pianos of Beethoven’s day worked a little differently. Here’s Eric Zivian on fortepiano.
The Pastoral Sonata should not be confused with Franz Listz’s arrangement for solo piano of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major. With the symphony, “Pastoral” does come from Beethoven’s own hand. I have never argued against that moniker.
The open thread question: Do you find the nickname “Pastoral” for the Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major to be justified?
