Overview

Sonata for Guitar, Op. 15, published on July 16, 1808, in the music magazine Imprimerie Chimique when Giuliani was 26 years old, is his only multi-movement guitar sonata. Comprising three movements, all unified by C major and its related keys, the work stands out for its formal beauty characteristic of the Classical period, in addition to the motivic unity between movements achieved through the use of cyclic themes. It features a structure and sound processing that strongly reflect pianistic ideas, even among Giuliani's works, and is a masterpiece that highly integrates Viennese Classical rigor with inventive performance techniques.

Historical Background

Giuliani, who moved to Vienna in 1806, subsequently established his international reputation there. This work was composed in 1808, early in his time in Vienna, and was published as an extremely ambitious and avant-garde endeavor within the guitar world of the time. Beethoven and Hummel were active in Vienna at the time, and this work suggests that Giuliani was deeply influenced by the trends in piano music.

Form and Structure

First Movement: Allegro spiritoso (C major, 4/4 time)

Clear sonata form. The first theme contains instability due to a unique accompaniment pattern that omits the root of the harmony. The second theme unfolds with a floating texture that frequently uses non-harmonic tones. It is noteworthy that these "unstable patterns" are constructive elements of the Alberti bass, yet are deliberately avoided.

Second Movement: Adagio con gran espressione (G major, 2/4 time)

Features a cyclic structure where the theme from the first movement is clearly recalled. The extensive use of double stops in the bass and the brilliant, expressive phrasing derive from pianistic ideas. The middle section includes a temporary modulation to the dominant (D major), returning to the tonic in the recapitulation.

Third Movement: Allegro vivace (C major, 3/8 time)

Rondo form. A section marked "Grazioso" appears in the middle, recalling themes from the first and second movements. In this section, a clear Alberti bass finally emerges, serving as a crucial structural point that brings thematic unity and a sense of conclusion to the entire work.

Technical and Performance Aspects

Polyphonic Control of the Left Hand: The necessity of playing both melody and accompaniment simultaneously demands advanced fingering techniques for the left hand. Controlling double stops in the bass is particularly challenging in the second and third movements.

Treatment of Alberti Bass: The structure, which hints at the Alberti bass throughout but deliberately avoids its explicit use until its final appearance, demonstrates a sophisticated aesthetic intention.

Pianistic Texture: Despite being a guitar solo, the work exhibits prominent keyboard-like ideas such as double stops, arpeggiated chords, and extended range, occupying a unique position among Giuliani's works in this regard.

Relationship with Piano Music

In contrast to Giuliani's representative work, the Grand Overture, Op. 61 (1814), which aims for dramatic and brilliant sounds reminiscent of a "small orchestra," Op. 15 has a more pianistic and introspective structure. It is positioned as a work in Giuliani's oeuvre where pianistic ideas are particularly prominent. Throughout the work, traces of his Rossinian preference for melodic beauty and an awareness of the structural beauty and figuration of contemporary Viennese Classical piano sonatas are evident.

Particularly striking is the structural treatment of accompaniment patterns. In the first movement, the presentation of a typical Alberti bass (bass-middle-upper-middle) is avoided; instead, the instability of the theme is created by patterns that omit the root and by floating accompaniments containing non-harmonic tones. This can be interpreted as a deliberate distancing from the conventional techniques of keyboard music, which are based on the stability of tonality and form, as exemplified by Mozart's Piano Sonata, K. 545.

Furthermore, the active use of double stops in the bass in the second movement, and the structure where a clear Alberti bass finally appears in the "Grazioso" section in the middle of the third movement, which strongly evokes Rossini's music, should be contrasted with the functional significance of accompaniment patterns found in piano sonatas. That is, Giuliani does not merely imitate pianistic idioms but transforms, avoids, and reintegrates them within the constraints of the guitar, thereby creating a tension between form and sound.

Thus, Op. 15 is a rare work that merges the structural thinking of piano music with guitar performance practice, serving as evidence that Giuliani was not merely a guitarist but also a composer deeply conversant with the musical trends of his time. Particularly in the semantic treatment of accompaniment patterns and the manner of thematic recapitulation, a structural awareness akin to that found in sonatas by Beethoven and Haydn is discernible, making it an example of a high-level development of the sonata form in guitar music.

Musical Significance

As Giuliani's only full-fledged multi-movement sonata, Sonata, Op. 15 clearly demonstrates his high level of compositional skill and structural awareness. Throughout the work, cyclic themes and tonal unity are evident, marking it as a pinnacle of "constructive formal beauty" within guitar music. The introduction of pianistic idioms and the symbolic treatment of the Alberti bass indicate that Giuliani was not merely a performer but a composer with a keen interest in stylistic exploration. The combination of Rossinian lyricism and a Beethovenian exploratory spirit in its structure certainly warrants a certain degree of historical significance.