Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 4, in E-flat major, Op. 7, sometimes nicknamed the Grand Sonata, has four movements:

1. Allegro molto e con brio in E-flat major; one often finds an orchestral sound in the sonata. E flat major is the most suitable key for brassbands.
2. Largo, con gran espressione in C major; once again, this piece is more suitable for orchestras. Throughout the piece are pauses which serve to demonstrate the impact of silence in music. The climax is very orchestral suggesting a single flute pitted against implacable unisons in the strings in lower registers.
3. Allegro in E-flat major and E flat minor; As Anton Kuerti states, this movement "has a bit of an identity problem; it cannot tell if it is a minuet or a scherzo." Indeed, it has the friendly melodies of a minuet, but at the same time, contains sudden pauses and a rumbling dark trio in the minor key, which has the sounds of a scherzo. This song does not try to compete with the earlier orchestral sounds of the first two movements.
4. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso in E flat major; A graceful piece which creates a raindrop effect, with the bass acting as droplets of water touching the ground. The "thunderstorm" brews up in the middle, with loud and threatening chords in the right hand and "rumbling clouds" (a continuous rumbling of thirty-second notes in the left hand). This theme returns later in the coda, but is depicted at a lower dynamic and a major key, with most of the chords replaced with notes with acciaccaturas, making it sound like the sun is shining through the rain at last, painting a glorious rainbow.

A typical performance lasts about 28 minutes, which makes it Beethoven's second longest piano sonata, the longest being the 29th, op. 106, the Hammerklavier.

External links

• A lecture by András Schiff on Beethoven's piano sonata op. 7
• For a public domain recording of this sonata visit Musopen
• European Archive Copyright free LP recording of the Sonata no.4 op.7 in Eb major by Hugo Steurer, piano at the European Archive (for non-American viewers only).
• Piano Sonata No. 4: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.