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 Sonatas Nos. 13 and 14 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's opus number 27 is a set of two piano sonatas. They were published separately in March 1802. Both sonatas are entitled "Sonata quasi una Fantasia", which roughly translated as sonatas in the style of a fantasia. The second sonata is one of the most famous piano works in the repertoire and often called the "Moonlight sonata", a contentious name not given by the composer himself. The first sonata remains far less performed than the second and the two sonatas are not commonly performed together.