The tenth Opus, which first appeared on September 26th, 1798, contains three Sonatas, all dedicated to the Countess von Brovne. The Sonata is in three movements—the first a movement of development, the second a Scherzo, and the third a playful Presto. The whole Sonata is cast in happy mood. The mysterious and somewhat eerie feeling of the Minuet being completely dispelled by the happiness of the Trio (which, curiously, enough, Brahms seems to have written over again in his Scherzo in E flat minor). The mood at the first part of this Scherzo has a close relationship with the Scherzo in the Eroica Symphony.
There are several noteworthy points about the development of the first movement. It opens with a treatment of the last three notes of the exposition in capricious manner. The development closes, too, with this idea, but it also contains a completely new subject in D minor. The prevalence of this tonality brings in the return section irregularly in D major. The Presto is one of those playful movements, full of fun and written broadly in Sonata form lines.
7th Sonata, Opus 10, No. 3, in D major.
Presto—Largo e mesto—Menuetto—Trio—Rondo.
This Sonata is one of the greatest works of the first period, if not, indeed, the greatest of them all. The first movement is a wonderful evolution from the first four-note figure, the development full of all kinds of strong devices, the stormy episode in the middle based on the rhythm of the opening phrase of the Sonata and the marvellous slow movement full of passion and tenderness, from its opening five-bar phrase to its beautiful close with those amazing tonic pedal chords. The spirited Minuet, really a Scherzo with two bars taken as one, is admirably contrasted with the Hunting Song of the Trio. Did Beethoven ever use the horse which Count Brovne gave him? The fine Rondo is cast on the old lines but filled with such new feeling.
The structure of the slow movement is in song form with five sections:—
(a) Theme in D minor in two parts with cadences in C major and A minor.
(b) Modulatory section from F to D minor.
(c) Theme in D minor with cadences in B flat and in D.
(d) Development of the (a) and (b) sections.
(e) Concluding portion.
8th Sonata, (Pathétique), Opus 13, in C minor.
Grave—Allegro di molto e con brio—Adagio cantabile—Rondo.