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Hi. Can anyone tell me how difficult the first movement of the Waldstein sonata is compared to the following:

The first movement of the Op.7 Sonata

Any movement of Op.2 No.3

And can you tell me what the specific difficulties in the movement are? Thanks.

The biggest difference is in the wrist action required at the opening. Otherwise I didn't find it much worse (and sometimes even easier) than much of Op. 7 (which I always found to be a pedaling nightmare) and Op. 2#3.

Respectfully, I have to disagree. I've never played Opus 2 #3, but I did play Opus 7 (all four movements) about ten years ago. The Waldstein is much, much more difficult in every way. (It also happens to be one of my favorite pieces of all time)

Except for the Hammerklavier, of course, I feel that the Waldstein is one of Beethoven's most difficult sonatas; only the Appassionata and Les Adieux come close.

id have to agree with godzilla...but the hardest of this sonata is the 3rd movement of the waldstein.... sounds so simple yet so incredibily hard to master...

I agree. Waldstein is much harder. Although you can't really know if you can do it until you've looked at the score or tried to play it.

You can see the score on www.sheetmusicarchive.net

Personally, I believe that Opus 7 is more difficult than the Waldstein. The difficulty of the Opus 7 sonata arises from the symphonic sound of the piece as well as the technique required. The first movement of this sonata is particularly difficult because of the very fast pace.

Opus 2 Number 3, I would imagine, is somewhat less difficult than the Waldstein but is still a formidable piece nonetheless. There was a thread that was created a few months or so ago where all thirty-two Beethoven sonatas were ranked by difficulty; if you want more information regarding the difficulty of the Beethoven sonatas you should refer to it.

Beethoven sonatas ranked by difficulty