Search results
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 32 mature piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. (He also wrote 3 juvenile sonatas at the age of 13 [1] and one unfinished sonata, WoO. 51.) Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one of the most important collections of works in the history of music. [2]
Of his later piano sonatas, only numbers 24 and 25 would not be daunting for non-professional players, and some of the late sonatas, especially no. 29, the “Hammerklavier,” and the three that follow it, are formidable from any point of view.
- Betsy Schwarm
- Pathétique. To single out just a few. The most important of the early Sonatas is the Pathétique. For the first time Beethoven uses a slow introduction, and an introduction of such weight you know something truly significant is going on.
- The Moonlight. The most famous movement of any of the 32 Piano Sonatas is the opening movement of The Moonlight – the Sonata he composed for the woman he wanted to marry, Giulietta Guicciardi [see Chapter 6, Beethoven’s Women].
- Waldstein. We already know the origin of the Waldstein from Chapter 3, The Spaniard. The gloriously spacious theme of the final movement is prefaced by a mysterious, fragmented middle movement, which presages it perfectly.
- Appassionata. Wagner’s favourite was the Appassionata. He loved playing it, and marvelled at the theme of the first movement rising from the depths. Once again, as with the Pathétique, the middle movement is simplicity itself, almost a theme on a single note.
Dec 17, 2023 · The 32 piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven together form one of the most vital bodies of work in the instrument’s history. They span most of their composer’s life, with each of his ...
- Jessica Duchen
In addition to the 32 celebrated sonatas, Beethoven's work for solo piano includes many one-movement pieces, more than twenty sets of variations, most unpublished in his lifetime or published without opus number, and over thirty bagatelles, including the well-known "Für Elise".
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. During this period he wrote 32 piano works. (As a young boy, he had composed 3 piano sonatas that were published when he was 13.
People also ask
How many piano sonatas did Ludwig van Beethoven write?
How many sonatas does Beethoven have?
When was Beethoven's Piano Sonata written?
How many string quartets did Beethoven write?
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and second sonatas in 1796. The sonata is often referred to as one of Beethoven's earliest "grand and virtuosic" piano sonatas.
