Beethoven is generally
considered one of the greatest composers in the Western
tradition. Beethoven's major output consists of 9 symphonies, 7
concertos (5 for piano), 16 string quartets, 32 piano sonatas, 10
sonatas for violin and piano, 5 sonatas for cello and piano, an
opera, 2 masses, several overtures, and numerous sets of piano
variations.
He has traditionally been referred to as the "bridge to
Romanticism". Today most scholars view him as the last great
representative of the Viennese Classical style, a composer who at
important junctures in his life turned away from the aesthetic of
the emerging Romantic period in favour of renewed exploration of
the legacy of Haydn and Mozart.
Beethoven's fame reached its zenith during the first decade of
the 19th century, but the steadily worsening hearing impairment
that he had first noted in 1798 led to an increasing sense of
social isolation. By 1818 Beethoven had become virtually deaf and
relied on small "conversation books", in which visitors
wrote their remarks to him. He withdrew from all but a steadily
shrinking circle of friends.
This sonata is one of Beethoven's last ones - he wrote it in
1820, when he was 50.
The first two movements of the Sonata are effectively a pair of
preparatory meditations which establish the right setting for the
variation-form finale.
The first movement seeks yet never finds a resolution between the
gentle flow of the opening Vivace ma non troppo and a
contrasting, dramatic adagio passage which creates the
impression of being extemporised as if at will.
The central Prestissimo of the second movement forms a
driving interlude, releasing various forms of pent-up energy
before the idyllic calm and elysian grace of the finale, possibly
Beethoven's single greatest movement for solo piano.
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