Sonata No. 25 (1st Movement: Presto alla tedesca)
Sonata · in G major · Op. 79
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
G major
Key
Sonata
Form
Presto alla tedesca
Tempo
Op. 79
Catalogue
Listen
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Difficulty
Our estimate Intermediate
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Themes & character
The Cuckoo sonata·German dance rhythm·Chirping opening figure·Composed 1809
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 79
- Key
- G major
- Tempo / character
- Presto alla tedesca
- Form
- Sonata
About the piece
The opening movement of the sonata Op. 79, composed in 1809, which Beethoven himself described as a sonatina and which has acquired the nickname Cuckoo from the chirping two-note figure in its first bars.
The marking alla tedesca means in the German style, referring to the deutscher Tanz, a fast triple-time country dance and an ancestor of the waltz. The whole sonata lasts under ten minutes.
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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