Descripción
In 1803, Beethoven purchased an ‘Erard’ fortepiano. Although he was far from deaf at this point, he was losing his hearing and the ‘crisper tones’ of the new instrument were more pleasing to him than his old ‘Walter’ Piano. Upon the purchase of the new instrument, Beethoven was inspired to write this sonata, one of the finest among his 32. It is now considered one of the great works of the Piano repertoire. This sonata is dedicated to the composer's patron Count Ferdinand von Waldstein.