The Middle Sonatas

Beethoven, 1815

Audio Excerpt 1

Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata" (I. Allegro assai)

Jonathan Biss / Beethoven & Schumann Piano Works / EMI Classics

Audio Excerpt 2

Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, "Waldstein" (I. Allegro con brio)

András Schiff / Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. V / ECM Records

In the middle sonatas Beethoven began to increasingly utilize the full capacities of the early 19th-century piano. Among his many innovations, Beethoven was “the first composer who writes for the pedal,” according to pianist András Schiff. The Op. 57 sonata (“Appassionata”), for example, contains Beethoven’s precise directions on the use of the pedal—which, when depressed, sustains notes after the pianist has lifted his hands of the keys—that limit a performer’s guesswork and, as with the composer’s other explicit musical markings, make clear exactly what he intended. In a number of the sonatas, Beethoven uses the pedal to blur tonalities and create an almost impressionistic wash of sound that must have seemed radical when it was first performed.

The “Appassionata” begins with a descending figure ( 1) that lands on what was the lowest note on the piano at the time. In Op. 53 certain passages reached the highest note in the piano’s range ( 2). He also made full use of the instrument’s dynamic abilities, often juxtaposing incredibly loud and soft figures in rapid succession.

The advances of the middle sonatas occurred during a period of renewed focus and creativity that came after Beethoven resolved in 1802, as expressed in that famous letter to his brother known today as the Heiligenstadt Testament, that despite his loneliness and despair he would continue living for the sake of his art. He also expressed an urge to find a new compositional path shortly before he began composing the middle sonatas, which show the ample fruit of his new aesthetic experiments.

Featured Sonatas

Opus 31, No. 2, “The Tempest” ›

Opus 53, “Waldstein” ›

Opus 57, “Appassionata” ›

Opus 81a, “Les Adieux” ›