Juvenilia The first three sonatas, written in 1782–1783, are usually not acknowledged as part of the complete set of piano sonatas because Beethoven was 13 when they were published. • WoO 47: Three Piano Sonatas (composed 1782–3, published 1783) •
Piano Sonata in E-flat major •
Piano Sonata in F minor •
Piano Sonata in D major Early sonatas Beethoven's early sonatas were highly influenced by those of
Haydn and
Mozart. Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 are four movements long, which was rather uncommon in his time. • Opus 2: Three Piano Sonatas (1795) •
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor •
Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major •
Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major • Opus 7:
Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat major ("Grand Sonata") (1797) • Opus 10: Three Piano Sonatas (1798) •
Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor •
Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major •
Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major • Opus 13:
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ("Pathétique") (1798) • Opus 14: Two Piano Sonatas (1799) •
Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major (Also arranged by the composer for String Quartet in F major (
Hess 34) in 1801) •
Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major • Opus 22:
Piano Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major (1800) • Opus 26:
Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major (1801) • Opus 27: Two Piano Sonatas (1801) •
Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major 'Sonata quasi una fantasia' •
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor 'Sonata quasi una fantasia' ("Moonlight") • Opus 28:
Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ("Pastoral") (1801)
Middle sonatas After he wrote his first 15 sonatas, he wrote to
Wenzel Krumpholz, "From now on, I'm going to take a new path." Beethoven's sonatas from this period are very different from his earlier ones. His experimentation in modifications to the common sonata form of Haydn and Mozart became more daring, as did the depth of expression. Most Romantic period sonatas were highly influenced by those of Beethoven. After his 20th sonata, published in 1805, Beethoven ceased to publish sonatas in sets and published all his subsequent sonatas each as a single whole opus. It is unclear why he did so. • Opus 31: Three Piano Sonatas (1802) •
Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major •
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ("Tempest") •
Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major ("The Hunt") •
Opus 49: Two Piano Sonatas (composed 1795–6, published 1805) • Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor • Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major • Opus 53:
Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ("Waldstein") (1804) • WoO 57:
Andante favori — Original middle movement of the "Waldstein" sonata (1804) • Opus 54:
Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major (1804) • Opus 57:
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ("Appassionata") (1805) • Opus 78:
Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major ("À Thérèse") (1809) • Opus 79:
Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ("Cuckoo") (1809) • Opus 81a:
Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major ("Les Adieux/Das Lebewohl") (1810) • Opus 90:
Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor (1814)
Late sonatas Beethoven's late sonatas were some of his most difficult works and some of today's most difficult repertoire. Yet again, his music found a new path, often incorporating fugal technique and displaying radical departure from conventional sonata form. The "
Hammerklavier" was deemed to be Beethoven's most difficult sonata yet. In fact, it was considered unplayable until almost 15 years later, when
Liszt played it in a concert. • Opus 101:
Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major (1816) • Opus 106:
Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major ("Hammerklavier") (1818) • Opus 109:
Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major (1820) • Opus 110:
Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major (1821) • Opus 111:
Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor (1822) ==Performances and recordings==