The opus 10 sonatas have been written almost immediately after the preceding ones. The piano was at that point still Beethoven’s most important means of expression. He was a great pianist, had only just arrived in Vienna and needed to make an impression in the Viennese salons. In that context, publishers asked Beethoven for pieces that would be easier to play for amateurs. The opus 10 no 1 sonata in C minor may be one of Beethoven’s technically more approachable sonatas, but it is by no means easy to play. It is Beethoven at his purest, without compromises. Because of the genius’ wild outbursts and eccentricities, some consider it a common mistake to use this sonata as a teaching tool. It is Beethoven’s first piano sonata in three movements. It is already more concentrated and connected in thematic material. Rhetorical silences and huge intervals give the sonata an agitated and dramatic character, as well as the nickname ‘Little Pathétique’.

The first movement -Allegro molto e con brio- starts with a thick chord, followed by a dramatic ascending triad, known as the ‘Mannheimer Rocket’. Then a sighing motif creates great contrast. The development section presents a completely new, most lyrical theme. At the end of the development, Beethoven prolongs the dominant before ‘returning home’. He was clearly not happy with the traditional ending in the major of a work in the minor mode.

One of Beethoven’s prettiest slow movements is the second movement, Adagio molto. The main theme is solemn and calm before it gets more rhetorical, with dynamic contrasts; first an exclamation in fortissimo, then an answer in piano. The movement is in sonata form, but has no development section. The exposition is separated from the recapitulation only by a dominant seventh chord. In the beautiful coda we can admire Beethoven’s art of variation and improvisation.

The third movement, Finale. Prestissimo, is as violent as the first movement. It starts in unison and pianissimo, very mysterious or even spooky. But the second subject brings a change of tonality and a change of character into humorous. For a moment we can hear a ‘Gassenhauer’, a street song, as a comical element in a dramatic sonata. The development section is only eleven bars and ends with great ferocity. In this section the world-famous fate motif of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony appears for the first time. With the coda Beethoven tried to achieve an expressive effect with an ever slowing pace. Here one can hear the seeds of the Tempest sonata. The sonata has a quiet ending.

Sonata is sponsored by Mity Houwink-Han