Beethoven's piano sonatas

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 32 piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, they "form one of the most important collections of works in the whole history of music."^[1] Hans von Bülow even called them "The New Testament" of music (Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier being "The Old Testament").^[2]

Beethoven's piano sonatas "soon came to be seen as the first body of substantial serious works for piano suited to performance in large concert halls."^[3] Being suitable for both private and public performance, Beethoven's sonatas form "a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall".^[4]

In a single concert cyclus, the whole 32 sonatas were first performed by Hans von Bülow;^[5] the first to make a complete recording was Artur Schnabel in 1927 (he was also the first since von Bülow to play the complete cycle in concert from memory).^[6]

List of sonatas

Opus 2: Three Piano Sonatas (1795)

• No. 1: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor
• No. 2: Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major
• No. 3: Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major

Opus 7: Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat major ("Grand Sonata") (1797)

Opus 10: Three Piano Sonatas (1798)

• No. 1: Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor
• No. 2: Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major
• No. 3: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major

Opus 13: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ("Pathétique") (1798)

Opus 14: Two Piano Sonatas (1799)

• No. 1: Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major (Also arranged by the composer for String Quartet in F major (H 34) in 1801)
• No. 2: Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major

Opus 22: Piano Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major (1800)

Opus 26: Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major ("Funeral March") (1801)

Opus 27: Two Piano Sonatas (1801)

• No. 1: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major 'Sonata quasi una fantasia'
• No. 2: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor 'Sonata quasi una fantasia' ("Moonlight")

Opus 28: Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ("Pastoral") (1801)

Opus 31: Three Piano Sonatas (1802)

• No. 1: Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major
• No. 2: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ("Tempest")
• No. 3: Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major ("The Hunt")

Opus 49: Two Piano Sonatas (1805)

• No. 1: Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor
• No. 2: Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major

Opus 53: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ("Waldstein") (1803)

• WoO 57: Andante Favori — Original middle movement of the "Waldstein" sonata (1804)

Opus 54: Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major (1804)

Opus 57: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ("Appassionata") (1805)

Opus 78: Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major ("A Thérèse") (1809)

Opus 79: Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major (1809)

Opus 81a: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major ("Les adieux/Das Lebewohl") (1810)

Opus 90: Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor (1814)

Opus 101: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major (1816)

Opus 106: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major ("Hammerklavier") (1819)

Opus 109: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major (1820)

Opus 110: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major (1821)

Opus 111: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor (1822)

References

1. ^ Charles Rosen, Beethoven's piano sonatas: a short companion, Yale University Press, 2002, accompanying note
2. ^ "Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier - Das Wohltemperierte Clavier - release information". http://www.brilliantclassics.com/release.aspx?id=FM02096331. Retrieved 9 September 2011. 
3. ^ Charles Rosen, Beethoven's piano sonatas: a short companion, Yale University Press, 2002, accompanying note
4. ^ Charles Rosen, Beethoven's piano sonatas: a short companion, Yale University Press, 2002, accompanying note
5. ^ [http://www.carnegieroom.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=4 Carnegie Room Concerts
6. ^ Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas in Two Volumes, ed. by Artur Schnabel, Alfred Masterwork Edition, Publisher's Preface

Literature

• Rosen, Charles (2002). Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300090703. 
• Tovey, Donald (1999). A Companion to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. ISBN 978-1860960864. 
• Rostal, Max (1985). Beethoven, the sonatas for piano and violin: thoughts on their interpretation. Toccata Press. ISBN 978-0907689058. 
• Taub, Robert (2009). Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Amadeus Press. ISBN 978-1574671780. 
• Behrend, William (1988). Ludwig Van Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonatas. Ams Pr Inc. ISBN 978-0404128616. 
• Matthews, Denis (1967). Beethoven piano sonatas. British Broadcasting Corporation. 
• Drake, Kenneth (2000). The Beethoven sonatas and the creative experience. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253213822. 
• Harding, Henry Alfred (2010). Analysis of Form in Beethoven's Sonatas. Nabu Press. ISBN 9781176311169. 

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 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