Sonata No. 23 “Appassionata” (2nd Movement: Andante con moto)
Sonata · in D♭ major · Op. 57
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
D♭ major
Key
Sonata
Form
Andante con moto
Tempo
Op. 57
Catalogue
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Themes & character
Calm at the storm's centre·Theme and variations·Leads straight to the finale·From the Appassionata
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 57
- Key
- D♭ major
- Tempo / character
- Andante con moto
- Form
- Sonata
About the piece
The slow movement of the Appassionata sonata, composed between 1804 and 1805, and the only respite in a work otherwise given over to violence.
It is a set of variations on a hymn-like theme, rising steadily in register and animation while the harmony stays almost motionless. At its end the calm is shattered by a single diminished chord that plunges without a break into the finale, one of the most shocking transitions Beethoven ever wrote.
The composer
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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