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.
Joseph Linke
He moved to Vienna in 1808, and became the cellist in a string quartet which Count Andrey Razumovsky had commissioned the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh to set up; Schuppanzigh's quartet gave concerts in the Count's palace. In December 1808, Schuppanzigh, Linke and Beethoven gave the first performances of Beethoven's two piano trios Op. 70, and in 1814 they gave the first performance of Beethoven's Piano Trio Op. 97 (the "Archduke Trio"). In 1815 Beethoven wrote for Linke the two Cello Sonatas Op. 102.