Johann Baptist Cramer

Sonata for piano, 4 hands, No. 2 

Johann Baptist Cramer was born in 1771 in Mannheim, Germany. Born into a musical family, Cramer started playing piano shortly after his father moved him to. Cramer was a highly accomplished pianist who was known mainly for his attention to detail and pure perfection. He made his performing debut in 1781 after studying under Muzio Clementi. Cramer spent most of his musical career putting on concerts of the music of other popular composers of the time including the works of Beethoven and Mozart. Cramer even introduced many of Beethoven’s sonatas to England.

Though the majority of his fame and success revolved around his performances, Cramer was quite the accomplished composer. His works mainly comprised of piano concertos and sonatas—naturally because of his stellar abilities. Cramer’s compositions were not extremely popular in his time, however, they are filled with depth and many ideals of the Classical period. Cramer’s later works were especially influenced by Beethoven.

One of the most challenging pieces by Cramer is his Sonata for piano, 4 hands, No. 2. The origin of the work is unknown, however it was composed in 1815 as a tribute of sorts to one of Cramer’s influences—Mozart. The genre of the work is a piano sonata, and is extremely typical of sonatas of the classical/romantic transition period. There are three movements, the first of course—Allegro spiritoso—being in sonata form. Some would say that it resembles the overture of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (Tuttle). The resemblance can be found in the extremely classical feel of the work. There are even phrases, simple melodic lines, and harmonic balance. The second movement, Andante con variazioni, provides a nice, lyrical contrast to the first and third movements. The third movement—Rondo—nicely finishes out the work with a lively upbeat feel. Cramer’s sonata is solely fixed on a classical style with an incredible attention to detail and technique. Perhaps many of Cramer’s works were not considered as popular as those of Beethoven and Mozart because musically they could easily be mistaken as compositions belonging to Mozart or Beethoven. However, Cramer made his name in his ability to create masterful piano works that are challenging and part of the piano repertoire to this day.

Works Cited

Stevenson, J. Johann Baptist Cramer | Biography & History. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/johann-baptist-cramer-mn0002149092/biography

Tuttle, R. (2014). Sonata in F for Piano, Four Hands/Sonata No. 2 in G for Piano/Four Hands. Fanfare: The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors,37(4).