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 No. 1 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, K. 279 / 189d (1774), is a piano sonata in three movements. It was written down, except for the first part of the opening movement, during the visit Mozart paid to Munich for the production of "La finta giardiniera" from late 1774 to the beginning of the following March. A typical performance of the sonata takes about 14 minutes. It is the first of his 18 piano sonatas. All but two of the sonatas, No. 8 in A minor and No. 14 in C minor, are in a major key. Also, the first six sonatas seem to follow the cycle of fifths, to the flat side first (No. 1 in C major, No. 2 in F major, No. 3 in B-flat major, No. 4 in E-flat major) and then to the sharp side (No. 5 in G major, No. 6 in D major).