Piano Sonata no. 3 in C major op. 2/3

Ludwig van Beethoven’s three sonatas op. 2 stand at the beginning of his oeuvre, but there is absolutely nothing tentative or “early” about them. Not a note could be changed, strict logic rules every movement. Five years after Mozart’s death, a new genius emerged here.

The Sonata in C major op. 2, no. 3 from 1795 is large and brilliant, more expansive than the two other sonatas of op. 2, and created for virtuoso effect. Its key of C major already has the celebratory, victorious sound of the “Waldstein Sonata” and of the finale of the Fifth Symphony. It is now available as a separate edition, in the quality one has come to expect of an Urtext.