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Peter Donohoe

Allegro con brio
Adagio
Scherzo: Allegro
Assai allegro

While the influence of both Haydn and Mozart is evident in this Sonata, the first movement is in fact an elaboration of a quartet movement dating from Beethoven's youth in Bonn, a reminder of which is the four-part texture of the opening. This first movement has a wealth of material, each subject group having at least two ideas. The coda, which begins with a cadenza, brings the movement to a brilliant finish.

The Adagio is in E major, with a long central section in the tonic minor. There are three themes, the second two appearing first in the minor then, towards the end, in the major. The noble first theme is varied only on its third and final appearance. The scherzo is characterised by its quasi-fugal style and the playful emphasis of weak beats in the bar. The finale is a sonata-rondo in which the central episode acts as a development and the first theme and first episode take the form of first and second subjects.

Matthew Rye

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