Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2 No. 2 - II. Largo appassionato

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, was published in 1796 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. Tovey wrote, “The second sonata is flawless in execution and entirely beyond the range of Haydn and Mozart in harmonic and dramatic thought, except in the Finale.“ The sonata was the first Beethoven sonata to reach America and was performed in New York on June 5, 1807. II. Largo appassionato One of the few instances in which Beethoven uses the tempo marking Largo, which was the slowest such marking for a movement. The opening imitates the style of a string quartet and features a staccato pizzicato-like bass against lyrical chords. A high degree of contrapuntal thinking is evident in Beethoven’s conception of this movement. The key is the subdominant of A major, D major. Tovey wrote, “The slow movement shows a thrilling solemnity that immediately proves the identity of the pupil of Haydn with the creator of the 9th symphony.“