General Overview & Musical Analysis

This sonata, estimated to have been completed in 1805, is believed to have been composed on an Erard piano that Beethoven acquired in 1803. This is because its wide dynamic range and the emphatic use of the lowest and highest registers appear to be a result of exploiting the characteristics of this new instrument. Furthermore, in its dramatic expression, one can discern the application of the expressive techniques from the opera Fidelio (Leonore), on which Beethoven was working at the time. Viewed in this light, the choice of F minor and its somber sound in this work are reminiscent of the atmosphere of the prison scene at the beginning of Act II of Fidelio.

The autograph manuscript is held by the Paris Conservatoire, but a facsimile has been published, which reveals numerous revisions in the third movement. This suggests that Beethoven experimented extensively with the third movement, in contrast to the first and second movements, which seem to have been composed in a single flow.

First Movement: 12/8 time, F minor, Sonata Form

Exposition

The principal theme consists of two motives: a broken chord of the tonic triad with a characteristic rhythmic pattern, and a trill figure on the dominant chord. This is immediately repeated in the Neapolitan second degree (G-flat major). The so-called "Fate motif," centrally used in the first movement of Symphony No. 5, Op. 67, also appears in the bass register.

After the theme is established, interspersed with ascending chordal repetitions, a transitional passage featuring repeated E-flat notes prepares the subordinate theme in A-flat major.

Following the presentation of the A-flat major subordinate theme, which is similar to the arpeggiated rhythmic pattern of the principal theme, another subordinate theme appears in A-flat minor, incorporating the trill figure from the latter half of the principal theme within arpeggios in the bass register. It flows seamlessly into the codetta, which converges on an A-flat spanning five octaves, through fine arpeggios in the high register and long-note-value arpeggios descending into the low register.

Development Section

There is no repetition of the exposition. The final A-flat of the exposition is reinterpreted enharmonically as G-sharp, modulating to E major. First, the principal theme appears in E major, and its latter motive (the trill figure) is developed and repeated. Next, the first motive (the rhythmic arpeggio) is developed in E minor and C minor, leading to repeated A-flat notes. This is unmistakably the transitional passage from the exposition, followed by the appearance of the first subordinate theme in D-flat major.

This subordinate theme develops into B-flat minor and G-flat major, and by reinterpreting G-flat as F-sharp, it briefly passes through B minor before progressing to the double dominant of the tonic key, F minor, and then to the dominant.

A wide-ranging arpeggio of a diminished seventh chord on the leading tone (also interpretable as a rootless dominant ninth chord), and the "Fate motif" of D-flat to C repeated in the high and low registers, lead to the recapitulation.

Recapitulation

The principal theme is recapitulated over repeated C notes in the bass register, the dominant of F minor, following directly from the "Fate motif." After being established in the parallel major, F major, it is recapitulated in F major and F minor after a transition.

Coda

The concluding phrase does not converge on an F spanning five octaves; instead, the first motive of the principal theme is developed and repeated within fine arpeggios and in the bass register. It modulates to D-flat major, where the first subordinate theme appears, then returns to F minor, but immediately a dance-like phrase of arpeggios beginning with the Neapolitan second chord is inserted. As the "Fate motif" is repeated, the tempo becomes Piu Allegro, and the first subordinate theme appears in F minor, sinking into pianississimo (PPP) before concluding.

In many respects, this movement demonstrates the mature Beethoven's sonata form, including the motivic development technique where all themes in the exposition are derived from the principal theme, the structural commonality between the development and exposition, and the expansion of the coda into a "second development section."

Second Movement: 2/4 time, D-flat major, Variation Form

This movement consists of a theme of 32 measures in total, comprising two 8-measure phrases, each repeated, followed by four variations.

• The first variation is primarily based on syncopated rhythm.
• The second variation is based on sixteenth notes.
• The third variation is based on thirty-second notes, gradually increasing the subdivision of note values.
• In the fourth variation, the theme returns in a form very similar to the beginning.

After a diminished seventh chord sounds twice, softly and then loudly, the movement flows seamlessly into the third movement.

Third Movement: 2/4 time, F minor, Sonata Form

Exposition

Following the previous movement, it is introduced by repeated dotted rhythms of a diminished seventh chord. The principal theme shares the same note on the downbeat as the first movement's principal theme, and its repetition over the Neapolitan second chord also shows commonality with the first movement's principal theme, suggesting that the entire work might be derived from the first movement's principal theme.

The subordinate theme appears in the dominant key of C minor, but it is also characterized by the Neapolitan second chord.

Development Section + Recapitulation

In this sonata, the structure from the development section onwards is repeated by a repeat sign.

The development section is primarily written in B-flat minor. After the principal theme is treated developmentally, a new motif with rhythmic characteristics appears. The principal theme is then treated again in F minor, and a dominant pedal point (C note) fully prepares the tonic key.

In the recapitulation, both the principal theme and the subordinate theme are recapitulated in F minor, and a repeat sign leads back to the beginning of the development section.

Coda

Rather than serving as a "second development section" like in the first movement, this coda has a strong element of instrumental development, concluding the work brilliantly. The tempo becomes Presto, and the entire work closes with phrases of repeated chords and the principal theme supported by arpeggiated harmonic patterns.

In contrast to the developmental sonata form of the first movement, the third movement seems to strongly emphasize a classical two-part sonata structure, with the tonal relationship of the two themes in the exposition (tonic → dominant) and the tonal relationship of the development + recapitulation (subdominant → tonic) being symmetrically constructed.

Originally, the development section in sonata form was a transitional passage, a process of transition towards the return to the tonic in the recapitulation, relative to the tonic → dominant relationship of the exposition. Therefore, transitional phrases unrelated to the exposition's themes were often inserted. However, the insertion of a motif with thematic characteristics, as seen in the third movement's development section of this sonata, cannot be explained within the framework of traditional sonata form.

The compositional method of expanding the first movement's coda as a "second development section" and the appearance of new motifs in the third movement's development section all relate to the structure of Symphony No. 3, "Eroica," Op. 55.

In this work, Beethoven took a new step in the genre of the piano sonata by fusing the wide dynamic range and registers gained from the Erard piano with symphonic development techniques and compositional methods.