Piano Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3, is a sonata written for solo piano, composed in 1795. It is dedicated to Joseph Haydn and is often referred to as Beethoven's first virtuosic piano sonata. The three Op. 2 sonatas all contain four movements each, an unusual length which seems to show that Beethoven was aspiring towards composing a symphony. It is both the weightiest and longest of the three Op. 2 sonatas, lasting over 25 minutes, presenting many difficulties, including difficult trills, awkward hand movements, and forearm rotation. It is Beethoven's second longest piano sonata in his early period, only to Beethoven's Grand Sonata in E Major, Op. 7, published a year later.
Piano Sonata Hob. XVI/20
The sonata stands out among Haydn's early keyboard works for its difficulty, dynamic contrasts and dramatic intensity. The British musicologist Richard Wigmore calls the sonata "Haydn's Appassionata", referring to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23, Op. 57. The music critic Stephen Plaistow, writing in Gramophone, suggests that the sonata is "one of Haydn’s best and perhaps also the first great sonata for the piano by anybody".