Piano Sonata No.11, Op.22

Sonata · in B♭ major · Op. 22

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

B♭ major

Key

Sonata

Form

Allegro con brio

Tempo

Op. 22

Catalogue

Score

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Themes & character

Beethoven's own favorite·Classical grandeur·Four movements·Composed 1800

At a glance

Catalogue: Op. 22
Key: B♭ major
Tempo / character: Allegro con brio
Form: Sonata

Movements

Allegro con brioB♭ major

A brilliant, tightly argued opening movement built from a small turning figure.

Adagio con molta espressioneE♭ major

A broad, deeply expressive slow movement in a singing style.

III

MenuettoB♭ major

An elegant minuet with a stormier minor-key trio.

Rondo: AllegrettoB♭ major

A flowing, good-natured rondo finale.

About the piece

Composed in 1800, this sonata closes Beethoven's first period of piano writing, and he was unusually pleased with it. Writing to his publisher he declared, with evident satisfaction, that this sonata "has really washed itself," an idiom roughly meaning it was a thoroughly good piece of work. It is the most classically proportioned of his early sonatas, less experimental than what came before or after, but polished to a very high finish across its four movements.

The composer

Ludwig van Beethoven

1770–1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer, conductor, and pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, he was mentored during the Classical period, and his musical style was a key driver of the transition to Romantic music, and the expansion of instrumental forms such as the symphony, the piano sonata and the string quartet. His compositions have attracted extraordinary casual and scholarly interest, and remain among the most performed in the world.

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