Piano Sonata no. 6 F major op. 10/2

After composing the three Piano Sonatas op. 2 between 1794/95, Beethoven presumably planned a further trilogy without delay. Because of its enormous scope, the Grande Sonata op. 7 was removed from this new project and published separately. But by the beginning of 1798, the next group of three, the Sonatas in C minor, F major, and D major, had already been completed and it was published in Vienna that year as opus 10.

Like the Sonata in C minor, op. 10 no. 1, the Sonata in F major has only three movements, diverging from the four-movement model established in opuses 2 and 7 - the result of intensive experimentation with different variants of the minuet, all of which would ultimately be discarded.

Beethoven’s autograph manuscripts for opus 10 no longer survive, leaving the team Perahia/Gertsch to turn primarily to the first edition. As always, our edition has an extensive commentary and proven fingerings by Murray Perahia.