Three Sonatas op. 2

The frequently played Sonatas op. 2, Nos. 1-3, stem from the time when the young composer took lessons from Joseph Haydn in Vienna and are dedicated to his teacher. After Beethoven’s three early sonatas which he wrote as a youth in Bonn, the so-called “Kurfürsten-Sonaten”, Beethoven started 10 years later, in the mid 1790s, to develop a style independent from the legacy of Mozart and Haydn and presented with his op. 2 his first fully valid piano sonatas.

The acclaimed Beethoven specialist Jonathan Del Mar has consulted every known source for this scholarly-critical Urtext performing edition. In addition he has analysed various copies of the prints published during Beethoven’s lifetime. The result of his accurate research is presented in a meticulously edited musical text at the cutting edge of scholarship, together with a detailed Critical Commentary.

The volume stands out in terms of its elegant and well-presented layout. Special emphasis has been placed on optimum page-turns and on the consideration of the flow of the music. The highly informative Introduction on the genesis and significance of the sonatas is supplemented by valuable notes on historical performance practice.