Music TheoryPrint

Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Sonata No. 7 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10, No. 3, was dedicated to the Countess Anne Margarete von Browne, and written in 1798. This makes it contemporary with his three Op. 9

Music#

The Op. 10 sonatas are usually described as angular or experimental, as Beethoven began moving further and further away from his earlier models. This third sonata of the set is the longest at approximately 24 minutes. It is the only one of the Op. 10 sonatas that has four movements:

I. Presto#

The first movement is in sonata form.

II. Largo e mesto#

The second movement is a slow movement in sonata form. This movement is in the parallel key of D minor.

III. Menuetto: Allegro#

The third movement is in compound ternary form (minuet and trio). The minuet is in D major, the main key of the sonata and the trio is in the subdominant key of G major.

IV. Rondo: Allegro#

The fourth movement is in rondo form (A-B-A-C-A-D-A-Coda).

  • A lecture by András Schiff on Beethoven’s piano sonata Op. 10, No. 3
  • For a public domain recording of this sonata, visit Musopen
  • Recording by Paavali Jumppanen, piano from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven