Piano Sonata No. 1
Composition by Ludwig van Beethoven
Alternate name:	None
Form:	Piano sonata
Key/Time signature:	F minor, 2/2
Tempo	Allegro
Date of composition:	c.1795 (Later Published in 1796)
Composition number:	Op. 2 No. 1

Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F minor, op. 2, no. 1, was written in 1796 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (IPA: ), (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer. ... A piano sonata is a sonata written for unaccompanied piano. ... F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... Year 1796 (MDCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Portrait by Thomas Hardy, 1792 Franz Joseph Haydn[1] (March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was one of the most prominent composers of the Classical period, and is called by some the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent...

A typical performance lasts about 19 minutes.

Structural Analysis

The sonata is in four movements: In music, a movement is a large division of a larger composition or musical form. ...

1. Allegro in F minor
2. Adagio in F major
3. Menuetto - Allegro in F minor
4. Prestissimo in F minor

The first movement, in 2/2 time, is in Sonata form (typical for the first movement of a Sonata). The first theme is driven by a rising arpeggio, very similar to the opening of the first movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 25. The second theme, in A flat major, is accompanied by eighth-note octaves in the bass (usually with dominant harmony). There are two codettas; the first consists of a series of energetic descending scales in A flat major, and the second is a lyrical passage marked con espressione. In this second codetta and in the second theme Beethoven makes interesting use of mode mixture as the right hand parts borrows from the parallel minor. The development opens with the initial theme, but is mostly dedicated to the second theme and its eighth-note accompaniment. The retransition to the main theme uses its sixteenth-note triplet. The recapitulation repeats the material from the exposition without much change, except that it stays in F minor throughout. There is a short coda. A tense, agitated feel is ubiquitous throughout the movement. If played at speed, where one quarter note equals 126 to 138 macrobeats per minute, this movement can be challenging to perfect. F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... Also see: F minor, or F-sharp minor. ... F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sonata form is a musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. ... Various arpeggi as seen on a staff In music, an arpeggio (plural, arpeggi) is a spread chord played top-to-bottom or vice versa in sheet music, or rather the sounding of the tones of a chord in rapid succession rather than simultaneously. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... The Symphony No. ... A flat major is a major scale based on A flat, consisting of the pitches A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G, and A flat. ... Figure 1. ... Coda sign Coda (Italian for tail; from the Latin cauda), in music, is a passage which brings a movement or a separate piece to a conclusion through prolongation. ... A flat major is a major scale based on A flat, consisting of the pitches A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G, and A flat. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... In music a tuplet is a note value whose relationship with the next larger note value is more or less than (not equal to) half as long as the next higher note value, usually indicated with a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) bracket with a number. ... In music theory, the recapitulation is the third major section of a movement written in sonata form. ... F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... Coda sign Coda (Italian for tail; from the Latin cauda), in music, is a passage which brings a movement or a separate piece to a conclusion through prolongation. ... In music, a movement is a large division of a larger composition or musical form. ...

Adagio: Second movement.

The second movement opens with a lyrical theme in 3/4 time in F major. This is followed by an agitated transitional passage in D minor, followed by a passage full of thirty-second notes in C major. This leads back to a more embellished form of the F major theme, which is followed by an F major variation of the C major section. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Also see: F minor, or F-sharp minor. ... D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B-flat, C, and D (natural minor scale). ... In music, a thirty-second note (American or German terminology) or demisemiquaver (British or classical terminology) is a note played for 1/32 of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). ... A one octave music scale in C major. ... Also see: F minor, or F-sharp minor. ... Also see: F minor, or F-sharp minor. ... A one octave music scale in C major. ...

Allegretto: Third movement.

The third movement, a minuet in F minor, is conventional in form. It contains two repeated sections, followed by a trio in F major in two repeated sections, after which the first minuet returns. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ... F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... Also see: F minor, or F-sharp minor. ...

The fourth movement, like the first, is in F minor, 2/2 time, and sonata form. The exposition is accompanied by ceaseless eighth-note triplets. The first theme is based on three staccato quarter note chords. A transitional passage leads to a more lyrical but still agitated theme in C minor. The chords of the first theme return to close the exposition. Where the development would be expected to start, there is a completely new theme in A flat, with the first respite from the eighth-note triplets. This is followed by an extended retransition based on the first theme. The recapitulation presents the first and second themes in F minor. There is no coda, only a descending arpeggio -- in eighth-note triplets, of course -- to conclude the piece. F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In musical notation, staccato indicates that notes are sounded in a detached and distinctly separate manner with their lengths shortened; that is, a short silence should be between the notes, without affecting the rhythm. ... In music, a quarter note (American) or crotchet (Commonwealth) is played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note. ... C minor (abbreviated Cm) is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E-flat, F, G, A-flat, B-flat (often raised to B natural to function as a leading tone) and C. Its key signature consists of three flats. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... A flat major is a major scale based on A flat, consisting of the pitches A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G, and A flat. ... In music theory, the recapitulation is the third major section of a movement written in sonata form. ... F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A-flat, B-flat, C, D-flat, E-flat and F. (natural minor scale. ... In music a tuplet is a note value whose relationship with the next larger note value is more or less than (not equal to) half as long as the next higher note value, usually indicated with a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) bracket with a number. ...

External links

• Piano Sonata No. 1: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.

Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven v • d • e

Op. 2, No. 1 • Op. 2, No. 2 • Op. 2, No. 3 • Op. 7 (Grand Sonata) • Op. 10, No. 1 (The little Pathétique) • Op. 10 No. 2 • Op. 10 No. 3 • Op. 13 (Pathétique) • Op. 14, No. 1 • Op. 14, No. 2 • Op. 22 • Op. 26 (Funeral March) • Op. 27, No. 1 (Quasi una fantasia) • Op. 27, No. 2 (Quasi una fantasia — Moonlight) • Op. 28 (Pastoral) • Op. 31, No. 1 • Op. 31, No. 2 (The Tempest) • Op. 31, No. 3 (The Hunt) • Op. 49, Nos. 1 and 2 • Op. 53 (Waldstein) • Op. 54 • Op. 57 (Appassionata) • Op. 78 (A Thérèse) • Op. 79 (Cuckoo) • Op. 81a (Les adieux) • Op. 90 • Op. 101 • Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) • Op. 109 • Op. 110 • Op. 111