PractisPractis

Piano Sonata No.7, Op.10 No.3

Sonata · in D major · Op. 10 No. 3

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
D major
Key
Sonata
Form
Presto
Tempo
Op. 10 No. 3
Catalogue
Score
First page of Piano Sonata No.7, Op.10 No.3

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Themes & character
Famous tragic slow movement·Largo e mesto·Four movements·Composed 1798

At a glance

Catalogue
Op. 10 No. 3
Key
D major
Tempo / character
Presto
Form
Sonata

Movements

I
PrestoD major

A brilliant, headlong opening built from a simple descending four-note figure.

II
Largo e mestoD minor

Slow and mournful. Beethoven said it depicted the state of a melancholy soul, and it is among the darkest movements of his early years.

III
Menuetto: AllegroD major

A gentle minuet restoring the light after the Largo.

IV
Rondo: AllegroD major

A questioning, fragmentary rondo that ends almost in mid-thought.

About the piece

Published in 1798, the largest and finest of the three Op. 10 sonatas. It is dominated by its second movement, a Largo e mesto in D minor, which Beethoven reportedly described as portraying a melancholy state of mind. That movement's depth of grief was without real precedent in keyboard music at the time, and it stands out sharply against the brilliance of the opening Presto and the elusive, almost hesitant rondo that ends the work.

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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