Piano Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007)

The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(December 2007)

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 thinks that this movement is about to end, 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 lighthearted showcase with upward runs, trills, sudden contrasts, and some minor key drama.

[edit] Media

[edit] External links

• Piano Sonata No. 3 sheet music available at Musopen.com

v • d • e Piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven Nos. 1 – 10 (Opus 2 – 14) No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1 · No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2 · No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3 · No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 7 (Grand Sonata) · No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1 · No. 6 in F major, Op. 10, No. 2 · No. 7 in D major, Op. 10, No. 3 · No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (Pathétique) · No. 9 in E major, Op. 14, No. 1 · No. 10 in G major, Op. 14, No. 2 Nos. 11 – 20 (Opus 22 – 49) No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22 · No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26 (Funeral March) · No. 13 in E flat major, Op. 27, No. 1 (Quasi una fantasia) · No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight) · No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 (Pastoral) · No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No. 1 · No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (The Tempest) · No. 18 in E flat major, Op. 31, No. 3 (The Hunt) · No. 19 in G minor and No. 20 in G major, Op. 49 (Two Easy Sonatas) Nos. 21 – 32 (Opus 53 – 111) No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 (Waldstein) · No. 22 in F major, Op. 54 · No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata) · No. 24 in F sharp major, Op. 78 (A Thérèse) · No. 25 in G major, Op. 79 (Cuckoo) · No. 26 in E flat major, Op. 81a (Les adieux) · No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 · No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 · No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) · No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 · No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110 · No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111