Overlooked Beethoven Sonatas?

[bkaldridge]

Is there a Beethoven Sonata that is lesser known but beautiful?  I find myself getting bored trying to learn them if I don't enjoy them musically.  Something as gripping as Pathetique or Moonlight Sonata but not as well known?

[invictious]

I would recommend looking at his piano sonata no.9 in E major Op.14 No.1. It is probably one of his easiest sonatas and it is quite overlooked.

I personally find it quite pleasant to listen to.

[orangesodaking]

Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!! 

I played it a couple years ago, and it is very difficult, but it is SOO much fun to play!!! The rondo last movement is fantastic!!

[omar_roy]

Op 14 No 2 in G Major

It's so playful and childlike and nobody ever plays it!  The third movement can be pretty tricky too if you get a little too carried away with your tempo.

[maykapar1]

I would also recommend Op 14 No. 2.  I particularly love the first movement.  I'm hooked from the first notes.

[stoudemirestat]

Definately the one that stands out to me as being overlooked is Op 27/1. It is obviously overshadowed by the "Moonlight," Op 27/2, which makes this unjustly neglected, but I find Op 27/1 to be the superior work.

[pianisten1989]

No. 22... You can't top that. On one side, it's got Waldstein, and Appassionata on the other. I think I've heard that one once, and that was on a "complete Beethoven sonata"-serie. It's not as grand as many other, but it's both beautiful and seldom played...

[bkaldridge]

Thanks for these suggestions!  Can't wait to try them! 

[joeplaysthepiano]

I've played op.10 no.2 and think it is definitely overlooked.  I really enjoyed learning it.  The first movement is fun, the second movement is really beautiful, and the third movement is just plain awesome.

[orangesodaking]

I've played op.10 no.2 and think it is definitely overlooked.  I really enjoyed learning it.  The first movement is fun, the second movement is really beautiful, and the third movement is just plain awesome.

I played it, too! It is great fun to play.

[nearenough]

#22. The first movement seems like an improvisation, but the second and last movement is a fantastic moto perpetuo that allows for extreme dynamic contrasts and rhythmic outbursts and sounds very tricky (and is tricky). I think it is a wonderful showpiece that takes on in rhapsodic wonderlands and is seldom heard to boot -- very unusual. Richter played it in his NY debut I believe.

[kevinr]

I would suggest Op7 in E flat.

First movement is like a coiled spring - great sense of taut live rhythm. Second movement profoundly beautiful. Third movt scherzo with a mysterious trio section. Final movement lyrical - almost Schubertian.

I have rarely heard it played in public - except for complete cycles.

I guess the basic reason is its length - if I recall correctly only the Hammerklavier is longer. But I think it belongs up there with the greats.

[iratior]

To decide what Beethoven sonata to play, it will depend on whether you like early Beethoven or late, and what kind of piano you are going to be playing on, and the acoustics of the room.  If the acoustics are "dry", for example, the arpeggios of the moonlight sonata might come across as too stolid.  I have an 81-year-old solid walnut baby grand on which the beauty of the first movement of opus 28 -- in the book, just after the moonlight -- is apocalyptic, however far from flawless my performance of it may be.

[pianowolfi]

op 78 in F# is a very interesting sonata in two movements, quite challenging. Beethoven said once: Why do people only talk about my C sharp minor sonata? (Moonlight). I have composed much better stuff, for instance the F sharp major sonata.

[argerichfan]

Definately the one that stands out to me as being overlooked is Op 27/1. It is obviously overshadowed by the "Moonlight," Op 27/2, which makes this unjustly neglected, but I find Op 27/1 to be the superior work.

AMEN!!   

And I think the slow movement to the Op 31/1 one of Beethoven's most gloriously extravagant creations!

[cheesypencil]

Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!!  Op. 22!! 

I played it a couple years ago, and it is very difficult, but it is SOO much fun to play!!! The rondo last movement is fantastic!!

haha yes one of my favourites!

[gerryjay]

There was a thread, sometime ago, about piano streeters gathering to play all Beethoven sonatas, or something like that. As far as I remember, nobody did choose Sonata opus 22.
Best regards,
Jay.

[cheesypencil]

There was a thread, sometime ago, about piano streeters gathering to play all Beethoven sonatas, or something like that. As far as I remember, nobody did choose Sonata opus 22.
Best regards,
Jay.

yeah I dont think it's for everyone to like, I find it fun to playy but not my first choice for listening

[gerryjay]

yeah I dont think it's for everyone to like, I find it fun to playy but not my first choice for listening

Which is definitely a good thing. I think that the majority - perhaps the vast majority - of pianists would not recognize opus 22 in a perception exercise.
Best regards,
Jay.

[tmcguire]

Take a look at Op. 26.  Beautiful set of variations (1st), catchy scherzo in relative minor (2nd), very dramatic funeral march (3rd), and flashy finale (albeit with a quiet ending).  All in all, lots of variety and musical inspiration.

[asiantraveller101]

Op. 54. I have not heard that in a recital ever.

[lb8848]

Take a look at the second movement of op. 106
You'll like it, very deep, melodic and playable

[starstruck5]

The sonatas you mentioned are both obviously dramatic minor key sonatas.  The other minor key sonatas are - No.1 in F minor -No.5 in C minor -No.7 in D minor - No.17 in D minor - No 23 in F minor -No 25 in G minor -No 27 in E minor -

I think they are all brilliant, number One being a personal favourite.  I don't know what the statistics are regarding the least performed, but I think that doesn't matter at all - play what you love.  I am yet to see anyone walk out of a performance of Rach Second Piano Concerto, and that is the most hackneyed piece in the Cosmos.

Also if you really want to avoid going down well worn paths, you need to discover lesser known composers who deserve to be heard more - I may start a new thread on that!

[pianoplayjl]

Op 26. I like the funeral march movement. It also inspired chopin's sonata in b flat minor.

[transitional]

Op. 78, Op. 54

The short, simple works of the middle period actually have some pretty rich musical content.

The Op. 90 is similar, yet it's often grouped with the late sonatas and is somehow much more popular.

[piabanoch]

i think a good sonatas that are underrated are op 2 n 1, op 22, op 14 n 2 are great ones

[lelle]

Speaking of Op. 14 I'd like to add a vote for op 14 no 1. It's criminally underplayed. Like op 14 no 2 it has simple, almost banal material, but he does so many subtle, creative things with it. It's a lovely piece if the performer takes care of all the details.