| Piano Sonata No. 2 | |
| Composer: | Ludwig van Beethoven |
| Key: | A major |
| Opus: | 2/2 |
| Style: | Classical period |
| Form: | Piano sonata |
| Dedication: | Joseph Haydn |
| Published: | 1796, Vienna |
| Publisher: | Artaria |
| Movements: | 4 |
| Duration: | 22 minutes |
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and third sonatas in 1796.
Donald Francis Tovey wrote, "The second sonata is flawless in execution and entirely beyond the range of Haydn and Mozart in harmonic and dramatic thought, except in the Finale."[1]
A typical performance of the entire sonata lasts about 22 minutes.
The sonata was the first Beethoven sonata to reach America and was performed in New York on June 5, 1807.
The sonata is laid out in four movements:
The first movement is an athletic movement that has a bright disposition. The second theme of exposition contains some striking modulations for the time period. A large portion of the development section is in F major, which contains a third relationship with the key of the work, A major. A difficult, but beautiful canonic section is also to be found in the development. The recapitulation contains no coda and the movement ends quietly and unassumingly.
Tovey wrote, "The opening of the second subject in the first movement is a wonderful example of the harmonic principle previously mentioned...In all music, nothing equally dramatic can be found before the D minor sonata, Op. 31 No. 2 which is rightly regarded as marking the beginning of Beethoven's second period."[1]
One of the few instances in which Beethoven uses the tempo marking Largo, which was the slowest such marking for a movement. The opening imitates the style of a string quartet and features a staccato pizzicato-like bass against lyrical chords. A high degree of contrapuntal thinking is evident in Beethoven's conception of this movement. The key is the subdominant of A major, D major.
Tovey wrote, "The slow movement shows a thrilling solemnity that immediately proves the identity of the pupil of Haydn with the creator of the 9th symphony."[1]