Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonatas

About Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonatas

The Beethoven Sonatas have been called the New Testament of the piano repertoire (the old being Bach's Well-tempered Clavier).
Spanning the length of his compositional career, they illustrate Beethoven's musical development, and show both the piano as an instrument and the piano sonata as a genre undergoing an extraordinary evolution.
Unsurprisingly, the most famous sonatas are those with nicknames, mostly invented by other people than the composer: Pathétique, the earliest of the "name" sonatas was a complete shock to the musical world with the unprecedented violence of its expression.
Moonlight derives its name from the critic Ludwig Rellstab's likening of the first movement to moonlight as reflected on the surface of Lake Lucerne. When asked about the meaning of the Sonata Op. 31 no 2, Beethoven replied: "Read Shakespeare's Tempest".
The gigantic Hammerklavier Sonata, simply named after the German word for piano, occupies a pivotal position in Beethovens oevre: this work begins the transcendent spiritual odyssey of Beethoven's late period.
The last three sonatas, with opus numbers 109-111 are some of his most forward-looking and experimental works.

ID:2
Preview TitleKey Year Level
Sonata 1 Op. 2 No. 1 in F Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAB Sonata 1 Op. 2 No. 118 F Minor 1795 8
Sonata 2 Op. 2 No. 2 in A Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAC Sonata 2 Op. 2 No. 229 A Major 1795 8+
Sonata 3 Op. 2 No. 3 in C Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAD Sonata 3 Op. 2 No. 31 C Major 1795 8+
Sonata 4 Op. 7 in E-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAE Sonata 4 Op. 711 E-flat Major 1797 8+
Sonata 5 Op. 10 No. 1 in C Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAF Sonata 5 Op. 10 No. 12 C Minor 1798 8
Sonata 6 Op. 10 No. 2 in F Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAG Sonata 6 Op. 10 No. 217 F Major 1798 8
Sonata 7 Op. 10 No. 3 in D Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAH Sonata 7 Op. 10 No. 37 D Major 1798 8+
Sonata 8 (Pathéthique) Op. 13 in C Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAI Sonata 8 (Pathéthique) Op. 132 C Minor 1798 8+
Sonata 9 Op. 14 No. 1 in E Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAJ Sonata 9 Op. 14 No. 113 E Major 1798 8
Sonata 10 Op. 14 No. 2 in G Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAK Sonata 10 Op. 14 No. 223 G Major 1799 8
Sonata 11 Op. 22 in B-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAL Sonata 11 Op. 2233 B-flat Major 1800 8
Sonata 12 Op. 26 in A-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAM Sonata 12 Op. 2627 A-flat Major 1801 8
Sonata 13 Op. 27 No. 1 in E-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAN Sonata 13 Op. 27 No. 111 E-flat Major 1801 8+
Sonata 14 (Moonlight) Op. 27 No. 2 in C-sharp Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAO Sonata 14 (Moonlight) Op. 27 No. 25 C-sharp Minor 1801 8+
Sonata 15 Op. 28 in D Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAP Sonata 15 Op. 287 D Major 1801 8+
Sonata 16 Op. 31 No. 1 in G Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAQ Sonata 16 Op. 31 No. 123 G Major 1802 8
Sonata 17 (The Tempest) Op. 31 No. 2 in D Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAR Sonata 17 (The Tempest) Op. 31 No. 28 D Minor 1802 8+
Sonata 18 Op. 31 No. 3 in E-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAS Sonata 18 Op. 31 No. 311 E-flat Major 1802 8
Sonata 19 Op. 49 No. 1 in G Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAT Sonata 19 Op. 49 No. 124 G Minor 1797 6
Sonata 20 Op. 49 No. 2 in G Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAU Sonata 20 Op. 49 No. 223 G Major 1797 5
Sonata 21 (Waldstein) Op. 53 in C Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAV Sonata 21 (Waldstein) Op. 531 C Major 1804 8+
Sonata 22 Op. 54 in F Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAW Sonata 22 Op. 5417 F Major 1804 8+
Sonata 23 (Appassionata) Op. 57 in F Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music AAX Sonata 23 (Appassionata) Op. 5718 F Minor 1805 8+
Sonata 24 Op. 78 in F-sharp Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAY Sonata 24 Op. 7819 F-sharp Major 1809 8
Sonata 25 Op. 79 in G Major by Beethoven piano sheet music AAZ Sonata 25 Op. 7923 G Major 1809 7
Sonata 26 (Les adieux) Op. 81 in E-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music ABA Sonata 26 (Les adieux) Op. 8111 E-flat Major 1810 8+
Sonata 27 Op. 90 in E Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music ABB Sonata 27 Op. 9014 E Minor 1814 8
Sonata 28 Op. 101 in A Major by Beethoven piano sheet music ABC Sonata 28 Op. 10129 A Major 1816 8+
Sonata 29 (Hammerklavier) Op. 106 in B-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music ABD Sonata 29 (Hammerklavier) Op. 10633 B-flat Major 1818 8+
Sonata 30 Op. 109 in E Major by Beethoven piano sheet music ABE Sonata 30 Op. 10913 E Major 1820 8+
Sonata 31 Op. 110 in A-flat Major by Beethoven piano sheet music ABF Sonata 31 Op. 11027 A-flat Major 1822 8+
Sonata 32 Op. 111 in C Minor by Beethoven piano sheet music ABG Sonata 32 Op. 1112 C Minor 1822 8+

Forum posts about the Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven

Favorite Recordings of Beethoven by Lesser Known Pianists? by swilliams002
I was wondering if anyone would like to share their favorite recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas by lesser known pianists (i.e., [i]...

Wiener Urtext - See detailed notes by rachorascho
Does anyone know, how can I get to the detailed notes in Wiener Urtext Edition? To be specific in the Beethoven's Sonatas. I found it in...

What should I play for my audition? by iloverach
For some context, I'm transferring to a university that is very well known for its music school, as a non-music major. Although I'm ...

Beginners concerto and next etude by etudediabolo
HELLO fellow piano fanatics! I'm an aspiring pianist, still feeling my way into the world of Chopin etudes and discovering what it means...

Looking for a piece which is 12 to15 minuter long by pianoentusiast
Hi everyone, I am a teenager boy, and I love to play piano. I have played lots of the Beethoven sonatas, Chopin etudes, Scherzo, Liszt etude...

Who is the most academic Beethoven Sonatas interpreter? by imnotapianist
Not the best interpreter, the most academic Beethoven Sonatas interpreter. ...

Learning Single Movements Vs. Complete Works by bwl_13
I've been thinking about this a little bit today after I saw a reply on an old thread here: "By the way, you should always learn al...

Beethoven concert series- one movement from each sonata by luxuchu
Hi, I have an idea of presenting a concert series of all Beethoven piano sonatas, but only choose one movement from each sonata rather tha...

Help to chose classical sonata by artlin02
Hi! I’m currently preparing the required repertoire for next years application to conservatories. One piece has to be a classical sonata ...

College Audition Repitoire Selection by charles-piano
Hi everyone, I am working on selecting pieces for my college audition. I have over six months to prepare. The requirements are: Bach Prelud...

Piano trio by lsinavi
Okay, I am a 25 year old girl living in Belgium. Lately I started listening to some works of the Cortot trio (Cortot, Thibaud, Casals). This...

When To Move On From Early Beethoven by flyusx
Hello everyone, I'm looking to finish learning the first movement of Beethoven's Op90 by the end of the year. By finish, I of course...

Dudley Moore Beethoven Sonata Parody by lettersquash
Not seen this for decades - nearly spilt my coffee. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GazlqD4mLvw...

Beethoven's Sonatas - Which Publishing House? by flyusx
I've always heard of high praise for G Henle Verlag, their Bach editions seem to be quite good. However, I've also heard praise for ...

Music Library by ksam
I’ve long wanted a collection of “best” editions, and can finally start one. I’d appreciate suggestions for Chopin’s etudes (no Co...