Piano Sonata op. 109 Question

[imnotapianist]

And also one more question concerning Beethoven Sonata op. 109 3rd movement. Something that really bugged me about the variations, although beautiful, was that they organized in a kind of weird way, at least for me. I just feel like the splitting variation 4 and variation 6 as these serene passages with something more chorale/march-like in variation 5 destroys what I felt was a building of deep emotion coming in from variation 4. I feel like it's similar to how excitement in variation 3 destroys the deep emotions that are built in variations 2 and carried into 4. Why is it supposed to make sense that Beethoven wrote it this way?

[ibrahim]

Beethoven had the gift and imagination to realize the work this way.  How could anyone know if another way of arranging the variations was possible? It might've been, but it wouldn't be the same  work. How do we know Beethoven wouldn't also have done some deeper musical tinkering with the variations to accommodate any changes in the order? The work as  it is works for me-- the third variation IMO is beautiful but also partly functions as a leadup to the devastating 4th variation. The subsequent two variations are equally sublime as the 4th but I feel (as you say) variations 4 and 6 are more emotionally connected and perhaps the 5th variation (despite its equal excitement on a different emotional curve) partly serves as respite from the evocative intensity in vars 4 and 6.