Piano sonatas (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 32 piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they compose one of the most important collections of works in the history of music. Hans von Bülow called them "The New Testament" of the piano literature (Johann Sebastian Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier" being "The Old Testament").
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven's early years in Bonn arguably represent a further, preliminary, period. His earliest known composition was from 1782, and a total of 40 pieces by him dating from 1792 or earlier are known today (though mainly from much later sources). Today his best-known works from before 1790 are three piano quartets and three piano sonatas, the quartets being closely modelled on Mozart's sonatas for piano and violin. From 1790–1802, his best music can be found in a cantata and a number of concert arias, and in some variations for solo piano, while his instrumental music (including movements of symphonies and a violin concerto, as well as various fragmentary chamber works) is conservative and uninspired.