Piano Sonata No.23 "Appassionata" Op.57 - III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto
Ludwig van Beethoven (1805)
Description
The finale of the "Appassionata." It begins by cutting off the diminished seventh left ringing at the end of the slow movement and then moves without pause to the last bar. Its more than 7,000 notes exceed those of any other Beethoven movement on this site, and it runs beyond eight minutes.
In F minor and duple time, it is in sonata form but with the repeat reversed: it is the development and recapitulation that are repeated, not the exposition. Placing the formal weight in the second half tells you that this is not music moving towards resolution but music that stays under tension to the end. The coda accelerates into a Presto and slams shut.
Even among advanced pieces this one is exhausting. The stream of sixteenths never stops, and without finding your own places to release, the hand will not last. Set the tempo from the coda: start the opening too fast and there is no room left to accelerate into the Presto. Played as part of the whole sonata, the budgeting itself becomes part of the performance.
Piano sonatas representative of the Classical and Romantic eras, including Beethoven's early works — substantial multi-movement pieces throughout.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Born in Bonn and active in Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven is among the towering figures in music history, bridging the Classical and Romantic eras. Despite losing his hearing in later life, he continued composing, pursuing innovative forms and intense emotional expression in his symphonies and piano sonatas. His beloved piano piece "Fur Elise" and his 32 piano sonatas remain widely performed. This site includes "Für Elise," the two sonatas of Op. 49, movements from his early piano sonatas, and sets of variations.
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