Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato

C.2 Give a late-sonata movement structural weight

Learn Beethoven Op. 111, first movement only: Maestoso and Allegro con brio ed appassionato. Follow the bass and thematic transformations through its tonal route before pacing the large arrivals. Reduce a dense passage to its essential voices, then restore its articulation and register. The Arietta, the second movement, is not part of this lesson, so announce it as the first movement only. The C-major voicing model prepares balance before transfer to the minor score.

Ideas

• Sonata form
• Thematic development
• Reduction
• Memorising from structure

Theory cards

• Weighing sonata arrivals
• An interpretation you can test

Technique

• C harmonic minor scale, hands together, 2 octaves
• C major moving top voice above held chordal voices, hands together (faster: Concert tempo)