Beethoven Piano Sonata Op 10 No. 2
Sonata in F major, Op. 10, No. 2 (1796-98)
Allegro
Allegretto
Presto
Beethoven made a few minor changes to the standard sonata form in this piece, the first of which occurs in the development of the first movement. Traditionally, the development is a place for the composer to play around with the first and second themes and then modulate back to the home key in time for the recapitulation. Beethoven introduces new thematic material into the development, setting the stage for a new flexible sonata form that would later include, among other things, double developments, extended and double codas, and new thematic material in the coda.
In the second movement, Beethoven again plays with convention by setting a minuet and trio in a minor key. He disguises it by labeling the score Allegretto but the ABA form is a dead give away. The ever-resourceful Beethoven pulls another trick out of the bag for the final movement and set the whole thing as a fugue. It is not a strict setting but rather fugal principles combined with Classical form. The fugue was considered by Beethoven’s contemporaries to be difficult to master and restrictive. Beethoven had such facility that he was able to use the format extensively in the development, a place generally reserved for less academic figures.
