The Piano Sonata No. 24 in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

, Op. 78, nicknamed "à Thérèse" (because it was written for Countess

Thérèse von Brunswick Countess Therese onBrunsvik (in Hungarian Teréz Brunszvik, sometimes referred to in English as Therese Countess von Brunsvik or Brunswick) (July 27, 1775, Pozsony, Kingdom of Hungary – September 23, 1861, Pest, Hungary, Pest, Kingdom of H ...

) was written by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

in 1809. It consists of two movements: A typical performance takes about 8-9 minutes. The common practice of leaving out long repeated sections, such as the

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...

and recapitulation in the first movement, would make two or three minutes' difference to the total duration. The second movement is a variation to the ending of the popular patriots song "

Rule, Britannia! "Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...

". According to

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and ...

, Beethoven himself singled out this sonata and the "

Appassionata Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (colloquially known as the ''Appassionata'', meaning "passionate" in Italian) is among the three famous piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the ''Waldstein'', Op. 53 ...

" Sonata as favourites (once written, the " Hammerklavier" Sonata" would also become one of Beethoven's favourites).

Structure

I. Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo

II. Allegro vivace

Notes

External links

A lecture
by

András Schiff Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Musi ...

on Beethoven's piano sonata Op. 78 *
Recording by Paavali Jumppanen, piano
from the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was founded ...

Piano Sonata 24 1809 compositions Compositions in F-sharp major Music dedicated to nobility or royalty {{sonata-stub