Description
The third movement of Op. 2 No. 1 is a minuet. In the sonatas of the day a minuet was normally in the major, and set against Haydn's and Mozart's practice, choosing F minor for one was itself a statement by the young Beethoven. It can be read as the step immediately before the scherzo took over this place in the cycle.
In F minor and triple meter, it carries the name of a dance without being danceable: figures that straddle the barline and persistent syncopation keep unsettling where the weight of the bar falls. The trio turns to F major for a calmer, contrasting passage in which the right hand's broken chords run on without a break.
At intermediate level and barely over a minute, this is the shortest movement of the sonata. With little technical load, whatever the player decides about musical weight shows through directly. The downbeats should not be pressed mechanically; the triple meter has to be rebuilt around the direction of each phrase, and the trio needs a character clearly distinct from the minuet.
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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