Allegro vivace—Andante più tosto Allegretto—Allegro piacevole.
Although this Sonata offers no outstanding point of interest, it is to be regretted that it is not more frequently heard. There are one or two places where the sunny sky is slightly overcast, but on the whole, it is a work brimful of youthful happiness. The Andante, somewhat frail, is like the Finale, full of fine melody, and gay with optimistic feelings of youth.
3rd Sonata, Opus 12, No. 3, in E flat.
Allegro con spirito—Adagio con molto espressione—Rondo.
The tuneful, breezy Allegro contains some brilliant work for the piano. The Adagio seems hardly deep enough to carry its broad time with dignity. The delicate Finale—short, simple, and tuneful—is well rounded off.
4th Sonata, Opus 23, in A minor and major.
Presto—Andante—Scherzo—Allegro molto.
This Sonata, published in 1801, and dedicated to the Count Moritz von Fries, is one of the more serene works of the "first-period" style. Its charms are not readily apparent, but it is full of interest to the serious musician. The subjects of the opening Presto are not very distinguished. The composer seems to have felt this, and has consequently introduced an unusual amount of new matter into the development section. The gentle, placid Andante, with its eloquent rests, has some unusual passages, notably the bridge (bar 33) where a definite theme is treated fugally in three parts. The Finale, undefined, strange and unusual, possesses that weird note which so frequently sounds in Schumann's pieces. The key of A minor seems to possess the right key-colour for this bustling, indefinite, and somewhat uneasy sort of mood. In this direction, one calls to mind the Kreutzer Sonata, with which this movement has much in common. There are more subtle reminiscences; the new theme in semibreves, which plays such a great part in the middle of the Rondo, recalls the fugal Finale of Mozart's Jupiter Symphony. The powerful Coda recalls all the foregoing moods. The movement is very valuable from the psychological point of view, for Beethoven was at the age of 31 years.
5th Sonata, Opus 24, in F.
Allegro—Adagio molto espressivo—Scherzo—Rondo.