In the Pianist's Forum here, we always talk about his famous sonatas. Has anyone worked on his others such as his Op. 14 No. 1 (No. 9) or Op. 22 (No. 11) to name a couple of them?

If you have worked on them, what do you think of them?

These surely are great pieces to and deserve as much attention as the famously-named ones. Right now I've been working on his Op. 22. The second movement is so wonderfully full of emotion and beauty, and the finale is truely sweet.

His other great sonatas such as his Op. 10 series are really wonderful too with the third one hinting towards his later works. The finale in this sonata I think is more difficult than the previous three movements including the Presto movement one. The second movement in this sonata, by the way, is considered one of his best he as written.

It's too bad we don't hear these pieces more often.

John

I like the almost never played Op. 31#1 although I have not played it myself.

I think there are other Beethoven works that are not among his Sonatas that should be heard more often. I had never heard his Op.77 Fanatsy until about two years ago in a master class(not a concert). I thought it was terrific.

When's the last time you heard his Andante Favori or Variation sets other than Op.34,35, c minor, or Diabelli? I guess most of the other variation sets are not quite up to these but aren't they still good enough to be played occasionally?

I'm working through Op. 27 #1 at the moment -- it's a relatively ignored work, but it's absolutely glorious IMHO.

I learned the first three movements of Op. 7 many years ago. I can't muster much enthusiasm for the last movement, but I adore the others!

I've also learned Op. 90. IMHO it's at least the equal of Op. 78 (another great piece) -- and we know that Beethoven held the F# major in high esteem.

Op. 2 #2 and Op. 31 #3 are two other relatively unknown sonatas that I'm fond of. I don't plan on learning them anytime soon.

Op. 54 is quirky, but the finale can be very effective.

Since non-sonata works have been mentioned, what about the charming Polonaise in C Op. 89? I'm rather fond of it.

I've played Op. 10#3. I found the last movement to be quicker to learn than the first, but it is tricky.

Other less well known ones I've played:
Op. 7
Op. 14#2
Op. 78

Op. 14 #1 was the first of Beethoven's sonatas that I learned so I have always liked it. It always seemed to me that this was one of the earlier works that was pushing the bounds of proper classical period composition.

I have recently learned Op. 2 #3. While it is a "by the book" classical sonata, it is still pure Beethoven.

Other than these I have only studied the famous sonatas.

I am working on his Op. 10/2 which I just find to be simply charming.

I concur with the admirers of his lesser-known Fantasy, Polonaise, and Andante Favori. They are quite good in their own right and should be played more.

Ah yes, Op. 10 #2 is Beethoven at his capricious best. Isn't the last movement a riot?

In this recent thread PW members listed sonatas they've learned and I think all but 106 and 111 were mentioned.

Interesting that you found the last movement of 10/3 so hard... I played it last year and in performance the last movement was when I could finally relax. To me, the presto was a killer. Really stretched me to the limits.

I've also played 54. I can warmly recommend it to everybody, it's a lot of fun.

The most intriguing non-sonata work would be the two preludes in all major keys, op.39. They are so strange that I just might have to learn them.

The best part is how the ending can be seamlessly continued with the octave opening of 10/3.

I played op.10 no.1 and had a great time with it. The second movement is absolutely brilliant. The third movement...quirky to say the least. First movement....nice solid sonata form and some intriguing themes with a pretty standard development (for early Beethoven). It's a very charming sonata!

The last movement gave me quite a fit when I learned it many years ago. It may have been the teacher I had at the time. He liked to use odd fingerings that never seemed to fit my hands, and when I balked he took offense. So I dealt with it the best I could and never did well with it. I plan to go back and relearn it using my own fingering, which is usally what's been printed in my Universal Edition.

I've heard those preludes too. They are pretty interesting to try some day.

John

i am still working on op.79, the easier one. i have mostly learned the notes, but it's far from finished. it's hard to play the 1st and last movement fast without stumbling all the time... the 2nd movement is really pretty and the shortest and easiest movement, but my teacher keeps warning me not to make it sound like a waltz.

I worked on that one ages ago. I wasn't crazy about the first movement though. It really annoyed me. The last movement is fun. You'll like it when you get there.

John

the funny thing is that everyone here is talking about those difficult sonatas and i'm talking about the easy one which is still not easy for me. John, i actually like the 1st 2 movements better than the 3rd when i listened to this sonata. but when i actually play it, the 3rd movement starts to get more interesting, because of a lot 3 against 4 stuff, which i cannot play fast yet or i would totally get lost...

This sonata is not as easy as it appears. Beethoven's so-called "easy sonatas" have a lot of other subtle things happening underneath that we often overlook when playing. The third movement is tricky, but remember the 4 against three stuff is nothing more than meshing the notes in between each other like gears do when they turn. Once I figured this out, they became easy.

Have fun exploring...

John

They're all miraculous except for the op. 49s.

I agree. To me they're really sonatinas and Beethoven's sonatinas are better than these.

John