Beethoven completed his A-flat Sonata opus 110 in 1821. Yet the moderate tempo and profound lyrical style of the first movement takes us back to such earlier piano sonatas as the “Moonlight” (Op. 21, no. 2; 1801).
The present A-flat Sonata does have multiple themes and a development section. Yet the movement’s message is not so much tied to the intellectual sonata form as it is to the emotional fantasia.
The contrasting middle movement carries the tempo and character a scherzo, yet it is in duple meter (unlike the more expected triple meter of a Beethoven scherzo). Wide contrasts of loud and soft inform the outer sections, while the central section is completely smooth in an almost constant flow of right-hand notes.
In place of a slow movement, Beethoven gives us a lengthy Adagio introduction to the final movement. In it, varied improvisatory ideas lead to an arioso which at last nourishes our lyrical appetite.
Immediately, Beethoven launches into a fugue. This Allegro develops masterfully, only to be interrupted by a long reminiscence of the Arioso. This leads, inevitably, to another fugue. This time the original fugue theme is turned upside down. Also new are the varied and virtuosic accompaniments to the theme. Excitement builds as the accompaniments take on aspects of the fugue theme until the climax at the final cadence of the work.
Here is Helene Grimaud to take you on this amazing journey:
