Technical examination of J.M. Sperger's B-Minor Sonata

Johannes Matthias Sperger is a person who left his mark on his period with his personality as both a composer and a performer. Johann Matthias Sperger was born on March 23, 1750, in Feldberg (now Valtice) in Upper Austria, near Brno. It focuses on the possibility that Sperger received his musical education either from a musician in the palace orchestra or from the Brothers of Mercy in Feldsberg. Working as a performer in different orchestras under the auspices of important statesmen, Sperger's career can be divided into three periods: the rise of the double bass as a solo instrument in Vienna in the 1760s, its heyday in the 1770s and 1780s, and the Emperor II. . Falling out of favor in Vienna following Joseph's reforms. More detailed information is available on Sperger's life from 1777 onwards. In 1777, Sperger played double bass at the court of Count József Batthyány, one of the Dukes of Bratislava, who later became cardinal of Hungary. This was Sperger's first documented work, where he worked with Kämpfer in Cardinal Prince Joseph Batthyány's palace orchestra, where he is known to have played both cello and double bass from 1778 to 1782. At the court of the Dukes of Batthyány, Sperger composed, in addition to seven of his best works, seven double bass concertos, six more for solo instruments, apart from 18 symphonies. Johann Matthias Sperger was a prolific composer, composing 40 pieces for double bass, 18 double bass competition works, as well as 44 symphonies, concertos and cantatas. Sperger gained a very important place in his period with the tuning and technique he used in double bass performance. However, his services regarding double bass are also of great importance. While the double bass was perhaps only an accompaniment instrument in the orchestra and he had a limited solo repertoire before him, Sperger contributed both to the visibility of this instrument and to the development of the contrabass technique with the works he composed for the double bass. Sperger's Sonata in B Minor, which is covered within the scope of this thesis, also has a very valuable place in the double bass repertoire. For this reason, within the thesis study, it has been tried to contribute to the field by examining it in terms of harmonic and form. Key Words: Johannes Matthias Sperger, kontrbas, Si Minör Sonat