Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 12 (Beethoven)
Movements
i Allegro con spirito ii Adagio con molta espressione iii Rondo: allegro molto
Notes
The Violin Sonata No. 3 of Ludwig van Beethoven in E-flat major, the third of his Opus 12 set, was written in 1798 and dedicated to Antonio Salieri. The third sonata features a sense of grandeur, power and majesty found in few other works of Beethoven’s early years. In addition, the piano writing is often of near-heroic proportions, by far the most substantial in the first three sonatas, and scarcely equalled in any of the subsequent sonatas. The violin is far from idle, but much of the piano work might just as well have been channelled into a sonata for solo piano. The second movement constitutes the emotional centre of gravity in this sonata. This is the first adagio we encounter in the traversal of these sonatas, and one of the finest slow movements in early Beethoven. To Abram Loft, it is music of “wonderful, timeless tranquillity … a lovely bouquet, fragrant with gracious melody and luxuriant turns and roulades.” The finale is a rollicking, joyous rondo with a catchy if hardly distinctive main theme. Frequent contrasts of dynamics and register are a constant feature of the movement.
