Surrounded by two of Beethoven’s greatest works for the piano, the Waldstein and Appassionata, this little two-movement sonata is often overlooked, and seldom heard outside complete cycle performances. Even with its slighter dimensions, it is full of character and structural novelty. Along with the Triple Concerto, it was sketched in 1804 seemingly as relief from the troublesome time he was having writing his opera Leonore, the first version of Fidelio.
The first movement is 'In the tempo of a Minuet', but has little in the way of dance-like gentility, once the opening phrase is out of the way. It has more the character of a rondo, with increasingly thunderous episodes separating the presentations of the main theme. The second movement is a moto perpetuo, with barely a break in its run of sixteenth notes. The entire movement is basically in two voices, one to a hand, filling out more substantially at the end. Henry Wong Doe
Classical Music | Piano Music
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 22 in F Major, Op. 54 Play
Recorded on 02/23/2011, uploaded on 08/10/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Surrounded by two of Beethoven’s greatest works for the piano, the Waldstein and Appassionata, this little two-movement sonata is often overlooked, and seldom heard outside complete cycle performances. Even with its slighter dimensions, it is full of character and structural novelty. Along with the Triple Concerto, it was sketched in 1804 seemingly as relief from the troublesome time he was having writing his opera Leonore, the first version of Fidelio.
The first movement is 'In the tempo of a Minuet', but has little in the way of dance-like gentility, once the opening phrase is out of the way. It has more the character of a rondo, with increasingly thunderous episodes separating the presentations of the main theme. The second movement is a moto perpetuo, with barely a break in its run of sixteenth notes. The entire movement is basically in two voices, one to a hand, filling out more substantially at the end. Henry Wong Doe
More music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19, Third Movement (Rondo: Allegro molto)
Sonata No. 32 in c minor, Op. 111
Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101
Sonata No. 32 in c minor, Op. 111
Fantasie in g minor, Op. 77
33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120
String Quartet Op. 131
String Quartet No. 11 in f minor, Op. 95, Serioso
Sonata for cello and piano in g minor, Op 5, No. 2
Theme and Seven Variations on "Bei Mannern" from Mozart's The Magic Flute, WoO 46
Performances by same musician(s)
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (from Cantata No. 147)
Composer’s Holiday, from Three American Pieces
Piano Sonata No. 1 Op. 22
The Horizon from Owhiro Bay
Tzigane
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1, Op. 13
Classical Music for the Internet Era™
Courtesy of International Music Foundation.