Piano Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)

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Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major is the third sonata of a set of three from his Opus 2 publication, dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It dates from 1796, three years prior to his groundbreaking Pathétique Sonata. It consists of four movements and lasts about 24 minutes:

1. Allegro con brio
2. Adagio
3. Scherzo (allegro)
4. Allegro assai

The sonata is often referred as Beethoven's first virtuosic piano sonata. The opening notes of the allegro con brio clearly fail at controlling the chipperness that is this movement's ethos, and just when one hope that the movement is about to be terminated, the song plunges into a long and arpeggio-filled cadenza before ending. Anton Kuerti states himself that this movement can be tedious.

The adagio is particularly emotive with its sweet melody followed by a clearly-pedalled minor key section.

Likewise, the scherzo also buffers a heavily-pedalled minor key section with more spritely parts.

The final allegro assai movement is a pleasant showcase with upward runs, trills, and some minor key drama, and has surprise in every corner.

Beethoven wrote a total of 32 piano sonatas. Refer to the List of works by Beethoven.

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Sheet music: [1]

Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven

Op. 2 No. 1 | Op. 2 No. 2 | Op. 2 No. 3 | Op. 7 | Op. 10 No. 1 | Op. 10 No. 2 | Op. 10 No. 3 | Op. 13 (Pathetique) | Op. 14 No. 1 | Op. 14 No. 2 | Op. 22 | Op. 26 | Op. 27 No. 1 (Quasi una fantasia) | Op. 27 No. 2 (Quasi una fantasia — Moonlight) | Op. 28 (Pastoral) | Op. 31 No. 1 | Op. 31 No. 2 (Tempest) | Op. 31 No. 3 | Op. 49 Nos. 1 and 2 | Op. 53 (Waldstein) | Op. 54 | Op. 57 (Appassionata) | Op. 78 | Op. 79 | Op. 81a (Les adieux) | Op. 90 | Op. 101 | Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) | Op. 109 | Op. 110 | Op. 111