Beethoven's Sonatas

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He composed 32 sonatas for piano solo, one sonata piano duet, and six easy sonatinas. The new series of Beethoven Sonatas from Creative Keyboard Publications is divided into five books. The first book contains the easy miniature sonatas which are called sonatinas. The other books in the series contain the rest of the 32 Sonatas. They are graded according to key signature and over all level of difficulty.

Most every piano teacher will agree that the easiest sonata is Opus. 49, No.2 in G major. The most difficult is Op. 106 in B flat Major. The Waldstein in C Major is also very difficult even though it is in the key of C Major. As you proceed through the series of five books, I feel that if you can play the first Sonata, then you can play the next one and so on. Everyone may have their "favorite five" Beethoven sonatas, but each one of the 32 sonatas is a wonderful masterpiece. Beethoven took the theme of each sonata and developed it into a longer phrase, then each continued into many musical paragraphs unfolding to the dramatic finish. Order and logic are two words which describe the movements of the sonatas. Beethoven was tbe Shakespeare of music! He reached the heights and depths of human emotion as no other composer has done.

The order in which Beethoven composed them is definitely not the order of difficulty. Here is the order in which the sonatas were composed:

• 1795 Op. 2, No.1 (in F minor), No. 2 (in A Major), No. 3 (in C Major).
• 1796 Op. 49, No. 2 (in G Major), Op. 7 (in E flat Major).
• 1797 Op. 10, No. 1 (in C minor), No. 2 (in F Major), No. 3 (in D Major).
• 1798 Op. 13 (Pathétique, in C minor), Op. 14, No.1 (in E Major), No.2 (in G Major).
• 1799 Op. 49, No. 1 (in G minor).
• 1800 Op. 22 (in B flat Major).
• 1801 Op. 28 (Pastorale, in G Major); Op. 26 (in A flat); Op. 27, No. 1 (in E flat Major), No. 2 (Moonlight, in C# minor).
• 1802 Op. 31, No. 1 (in G Major), No. 2 (in D minor).
• 1803 Op. 31, No. 3 (in E flat Major).
• 1804 Op. 53 (Waldstein, in C Major).
• 1805 Op. 54 (in F Major)
• 1806 Op. 57 (Appassionata, in F minor).
• 1808 Op. 79 (in G Major).
• 1809 Op. 78 (in F# Major); Op. 81a (Farewell, Absence and Return, in E flat Major).
• 1814 Op. 90 (in E minor).
• 1816 Op. 101 (in A Major).
• 1818 Op. 106 (in B flat Major).
• 1820 Op. 109 (in E Major).
• 1821 Op. 110 (in A flat Major).
• 1822 Op. 111 (in C Major)

Beethoven taught many piano students. One of his famous students was Carl Czerny. He told his pupil one day, "What is in my heart must come out and so I write it down." Beethoven carried a notebook with him at all times. He jotted down themes and ideas for songs. Beethoven took long walks in the woods near his home every day, rain or shine. He would sit in his favorite tree and often write songs down. Beethoven began this practice of writing in his sketch-books as a boy and by the end of his life, there were more than fifty of these books, each with 200 pages in them and with sixteen staves per page.

Good thing Beethoven wrote down his music so we can play it today and enjoy hearing all his wonderful music!

This month you may enjoy playing a movement from one of the sonatinas Beethoven composcd when he was only eleven years old.

Download the music (PDF format, 89 K).
Download Acrobat Reader.



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