Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)
The Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1816 and published in 1817. Dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann, née Graumen, it is considered the first of the composer's late piano sonatas.
Opening of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101
Beethoven's manuscript sketch for movement IV
Sonata, in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata, a piece sung. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until the Classical era, when it took on increasing importance. Sonata is a vague term, with varying meanings depending on the context and time period. By the early 19th century, it came to represent a principle of composing large-scale works. It was applied to most instrumental genres and regarded—alongside the fugue—as one of two fundamental methods of organizing, interpreting and analyzing concert music. Though the musical style of sonatas has changed since the Classical era, most 20th- and 21st-century sonatas still maintain the same structure.
Ludwig van Beethoven's manuscript sketch for Piano Sonata No. 28, Movement IV Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit (Allegro), in his own handwriting. The piece was completed in 1816.
Individual sheet music of a sonata, written in the Baroque period.