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Piano Sonata No.15, Op.28

Sonata · in D major · Op. 28

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
D major
Key
Sonata
Form
Allegro
Tempo
Op. 28
Catalogue
Score
First page of Piano Sonata No.15, Op.28

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Themes & character
The Pastoral sonata·Drone bass·Serene and spacious·Composed 1801

At a glance

Catalogue
Op. 28
Key
D major
Tempo / character
Allegro
Form
Sonata

Movements

I
AllegroD major

Opens over a repeated low D held like a bagpipe drone, giving the movement its rustic calm.

II
AndanteD minor

A gravely beautiful movement over a steady walking bass. Beethoven is said to have been especially fond of it.

III
Scherzo: Allegro vivaceD major

Brisk and playful, built from a simple descending scale figure.

IV
Rondo: Allegro ma non troppoD major

A genial country dance that quickens into a brilliant coda.

About the piece

Composed in 1801, this sonata acquired the nickname Pastoral from a Hamburg publisher rather than from Beethoven, though the label fits unusually well. Its opening movement rests on a long held bass note in imitation of a bagpipe drone, and the whole work has an unhurried, open-air quality. It stands apart from the turbulent works around it in the catalogue, favoring breadth and calm over drama, and Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny reported that the composer particularly liked its slow movement.

The composer

Ludwig van Beethoven
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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