disappeared in music intended for the heavier, English-style piano by the year 1800; it
was only in music for the ‘Viennese’ instrument that similar indications persisted for the
first few years of the new century.’ (pages 63-69)
Critique of Rowland’s view
Rowland’s view is:
‘The evidence of Beethoven’s markings and Czerny’s remarks suggests that Beethoven
probably did hold down the damper-raising pedal for lengthy passages, and even whole
movements in the case of Op. 27 No. 2 .’ [Italics supplied]
Rowland qualifies his view with the words ‘suggests’ and ‘probably’. In addition, his
assertion in relation to ‘even whole movements’ may be argued to involve a quantum
leap in reasoning because, apart from the question of the first movement of the
‘Moonlight’ Sonata, there is nowhere among the thousand or so pedal markings in
Beethoven’s entire corpus of works for or with piano where it has been, or could be,
suggested that Beethoven required the pedal to be held unchanged through a complete
movement.
Rowland goes on to ask:
‘Did Beethoven really intend these effects? Czerny is ambiguous on the subject. In his
comments on Op. 27 No. 2 he says that “the prescribed pedal must be re-employed at
each note in the bass”. It is not clear from these remarks whether Czerny is relating
Beethoven’s own practice, or simply suggesting a way of coming to terms with the pedal
marking on a more modern piano.’ [Italics supplied]
If changed pedalling was Beethoven’s own practice then that is presumably the meaning
of his markings, in which case it may be argued that he never intended unchanged pedal.
Rowland states:
The una corda pedal was also used in Op. 27 No. 2, according to Czerny, who observed:
“The bars 32 to 35 remarkably crescendo and also accelerando up to forte, which in bars
36 to 39 again decreases. In this forte, the shifting pedal is also relinquished, which
otherwise Beethoven was accustomed to employ throughout the whole piece. (Beethoven
was not in the habit of marking the una corda at this date.)”
If Czerny is here suggesting that Beethoven himself inserted the crescendo in bars 32 to
35, and if he is also suggesting that Beethoven himself was accustomed to play it this
way, then it must have sounded cacophonous in this part of the movement if the
sustaining pedal was unchanged during the entire first movement. It may be, of course,
that the crescendo was purely Czerny’s idea. In this case, coupled with Czerny’s
direction that the sustaining pedal be changed with each change of harmony and bass note,
no problem would arise. It may be, of course, that Beethoven played the first movement
in different ways at different times, in particular depending on what piano he had
available.