The Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 (1814) is one of Beethoven’s shorter sonatas, but its relatively modest proportions show us an emotional complexity that looks forward to his imminent future works in this form.
By this time Beethoven had begun to provide tempo indications in German rather than Italian, perhaps acknowledging that his music had come to represent an especially personal, Romantic form of expression.
The composer had for a time considered titling this work “Struggle Between Head and Heart” or “Conversation with the Beloved,” the latter alluding to a love affair between Count Moritz Lichnowsky, the sonata’s dedicatee, and an opera singer he later married.
Listen now to a performance of this music:
