i. Allegro
ii. Andante
iii. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
iv. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
The so-called ‘Pastoral’ Sonata was composed in 1801, and the nickname is justified by the generally sunny mood of parts of the work, especially its finale. In fact it could hardly have been written at a more traumatic time in Beethoven’s life: this was the year in which he confessed to a few of his closest friends that he was losing his hearing. Published by the Bureau des Arts et d’Industrie in Vienna, it was described as a ‘Grande Sonate’ and dedicated to Joseph Freiherr von Sonnenfels (1732–1817), a friend of Mozart and a liberal thinker whose chief claim to fame was bringing about the abolition of torture in Austria in 1776. After a first movement that shows signs of real stress and tension in the turbulent development, the slow movement, in D minor, is restrained and rather despondent. The Scherzo is a startling contrast to this – playful in parts and also dramatic in the central Trio section. The last movement is a gentle and bucolic Rondo.

Nigel Simeone ©2014