Beethoven Piano Sonata in A Major Op 2 No 2

Beethoven’s three Piano sonatas op. 2 were the first works in this genre to which he gave an opus number, thus signalling to the music world the special importance that he assigned to them. These three sonatas – all of them small masterpieces – are arranged in ascending order of difficulty and virtuosity. At the heart of this A-major Sonata is the well-known, profound Largo appassionato movement, whose staccato bass line is reminiscent of double bass pizzicati. It stands in stark contrast to the nimble Rondo-Finale, whose theme returns each time with ever more elaborate arabesques. urray Perahia’s fingerings have been tried and tested over several decades of performing these works, and offer a new approach to these milestones.