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Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven) edit

 
Beethoven in 1820

The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A major, Op. 110, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821 and published in 1822. It is the middle piano sonata in the group of three (Opp. 109, 110, and 111) that he wrote between 1820 and 1822, and the thirty-first and penultimate of his piano sonatas. Though the sonata was commissioned in 1820, Beethoven did not begin work on Op. 110 until the latter half of 1821, and final revisions were completed in early 1822. The original edition was published by Schlesinger in Paris and Berlin in 1822 without dedication. The Moderato first movement follows a typical sonata form with an expressive and cantabile opening theme. The Allegro second movement is a terse but humorous scherzo and trio. The third and final movement comprises multiple contrasting sections: a slow introductory recitative, an arioso dolente, a fugue, a return of the arioso, and a second fugue that builds to a passionate and heroic conclusion. (Full article...)