Each of Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas is a world apart, a unique presentation of very expressive feelings.
The first movement of Op. 110 opens softly and simply – though stopping on a mini-cadenza in the fourth bar is an early warning of the liberties to come, as are the movement heading (Moderato cantabile molto espressivo) and the marking con amabilità.
The second movement is a scherzo in the manner of the late Bagatelles, a highly charged joke of meter-jarring accents, odd gaps, and explosive dynamic contrasts.
Remarkable as these movements are, it is the extraordinary third movement that dominates discussion of this sonata. Beethoven combined a slow movement and finale into a single unit, the principal elements of which are an Arioso dolente (lamenting song) and a three-voice fugue.
Here is pianist Mikhail Pletnev to play this amazing sonata for you:
