# Life, Death, & Trancendence



## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

I.
II.
III.​
*Life, Death, & Transcendence: *
_3x3, philosophical revelations through 9 piano sonatas	_

Three of our history's most significant piano composers have revealed a lot to us in their final three sonatas. In each case the works expand upon long examined themes, both musical and existential. These works are often considered the pinnacles of these men's lives and art. They are profound culminating masterpieces of expression.

In each case, the three separate pieces work individually and as a part of the whole. Each whole is a philosophical exposition. Each exposition is a revelation; a piece to the puzzle of the nature of existence; a key to Pandora's box containing Pandora's next box containing Pandora's next box containing Pandora's next box…

Beethoven's final three sonatas for piano, opp. 109-111, explore the nature of life. Schubert's final three sonatas for piano, D. 958-960, confront the nature of death. Scriabin's final three sonatas for piano, opp. 68, 70, & 66, reveal the nature of transcendence.

The metaphysical implications held within these 9 works are fantastical and profound.

*Ludwig van Beethoven* [1770-1827]
*Life:*_ 
A reflection on the meaning and processes of life, leading to wisdom: discovering life, experiencing life, accepting life_

Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 
[1820/21]​
_Discovery:_ individual; dignified and meditative; exploration and re-discovery; the reduction of life

Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110 
[1821]​
_Experience: _earthly pain and inward strength; a physical process; a return to life; a somatic experience

Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 
[1821/22]​
_Wisdom: _stormy and impassioned; powerful, dancing, stomp-like; order over chaos, optimism over anguish; reflection; growth; living with ambivalence

*Franz Schubert* [1797-1828] 
*Death:	*_ 
A re-remembrance of life in the face of death; a fragmented, cyclical, and self-reflexive process through the stages of defiance, fear, and acceptance_

Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958 
[1828]​
_Death - I will not go: _somber, mysterious, and wandering; petulance and defiance

Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major, D. 959 
[1828]​
_Death - Please do not take me: _lamenting, poignant, bold, and evocative; an attempt to negotiate with death; fear

Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat major, D. 960 
[1828]​
_Death - I am ready: _the calmness in accepting mortality; the breadth in accepting mortality; sublimity and cheer in your final moments; peace

*Alexander Scriabin* [1872-1915]
*Transcendence:*_ 
A map to transcendence: flirting with the darkness and accepting your shadow, flirting with the goddess and accepting the physical; a climax divine_

Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, "Messe noire" 
[1912/13]​
_Seductive darkness:_ a parade of the forces of evil; a conjuring; the intersection of pleasure and pain

Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70 
[1912/13]​
_Blinding light: _harmony; bright, joyful, and earthy; an evocation of nature and manifestation of human emotion

Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 66 
[1912/13, finished last]​
_Transcendence:_ meditation; a correspondence with the cosmos; a bridge between the visible and invisible worlds












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regards,

Selby George

4.19.2014


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

This piece of writing is your work?


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Yes. Some of the adjectives for individual sonatas were borrowed from readings.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Wholeheartedly agree about the Schubert B-flat sonata. It's a sublime work which has given me similar impressions of somebody bidding his last bittersweet adieu to life. Don't know the other works well enough to comment.


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