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Piano Sonata No.28, Op.101

Sonata · in A major · Op. 101

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
A major
Key
Sonata
Form
Op. 101
Catalogue
Score
First page of Piano Sonata No.28, Op.101

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Themes & character
First of the late sonatas·Fugal finale·Dedicated to Dorothea Ertmann·Composed 1816

At a glance

Catalogue
Op. 101
Key
A major
Form
Sonata

Movements

I
Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten EmpfindungA major

Somewhat lively and with the most heartfelt feeling. Short, intimate, and beginning as if already in progress.

II
Lebhaft, marschmassigF major

Lively, march-like. Angular and dotted, with a canonic trio.

III
Langsam und sehnsuchtsvollA minor

Slow and full of longing. A brief, searching slow movement that recalls the opening theme before the finale.

IV
Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit EntschlossenheitA major

Quick, but not too much so, and with determination. A finale whose development becomes a full fugue.

About the piece

Composed in 1816 and dedicated to Baroness Dorothea von Ertmann, a pianist Beethoven admired greatly, this is generally counted the first of his five late sonatas. Its scale is modest but its methods are new. The work turns inward and fragmentary, then answers itself with a fugue in the finale, the first time Beethoven ends a piano sonata this way and a sign of the contrapuntal preoccupation that would dominate his final decade. He used German tempo markings throughout, including the word innigst, most heartfelt, which has no exact Italian equivalent.

The composer

Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer, conductor, and pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, he was mentored during the Classical period, and his musical style was a key driver of the transition to Romantic music, and the expansion of instrumental forms such as the symphony, the piano sonata and the string quartet. His compositions have attracted extraordinary casual and scholarly interest, and remain among the most performed in the world.

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