- Baptized December 17, 1770, in Bonn (likely born December 16)
- Died March 26, 1827, in Vienna
- Composed in 1801–02
- Duration: 25 minutes

In 1801 Beethoven began to disclose to his closest friends that he was losing the ability to hear. By that point he had already been experiencing symptoms for a few years, but did everything he could, in a mix of hope and fear, to obfuscate the reality of his condition. In a letter to Franz Gerhard Wegler, a friend since adolescence, he revealed, “For almost two years I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am deaf. If I had any other profession it would be easier, but in my profession it is a terrible handicap. As for my enemies, of whom I have a fair number, what would they say?” Later in the letter he shares that his new doctor expressed hope that his hearing would improve, even if it would never be fully restored, and implores his friend to join him in the country the following year, where the beauty of the scenery and fresh air might “effect a change.”

Beethoven did get out of Vienna the following year, to the spa town of Heiligenstadt, but he traveled alone. There he would wrestle with an onslaught of emotions as he realized his hearing was unlikely to ever improve. In a now famous letter to his brothers, known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, he vacillates between despair, defiance, and acceptance: “Perhaps I shall get better, perhaps not; I am ready.” The period that followed, often referred to as his middle, “heroic,” period, produced some of his most famous works, many infused with a deep sense of struggle and triumph.

Almost all of Beethoven’s ten sonatas for violin and piano hail from this time; in particular, the Sonata in C minor was written between 1801 and 1802 at the composer’s turning point. Notably, the key of C minor is a favorite of Beethoven’s, and is used in many works (especially during the “heroic” period), including the “Pathétique” Piano Sonata, the Third and Fifth Symphonies, and the Third Piano Concerto. At the time, that key signature was associated with a searching soul—both longing and languishing. Only three of the sonatas unfold in four movements, including the C-minor Sonata.

Notable, also, is Beethoven’s tweaking of sonata form in the opening movement. Standard practice at the time was to repeat the exposition section, so that the audience had a chance to hear the themes more than once before their development. Here, as if a sense of urgency has taken over, the work goes straight into the development section. Next comes an achingly beautiful slow movement with an astonishing surprise in the form of the sudden, loud insertion of two C-major scales in the piano part—the same gesture that is heard in the opening of the Piano Concerto No. 3, also written around this time. Following a playful scherzo and trio is a brilliant finale made of light and shadow, in which a charming, dance-like spirit is contrasted with unbridled, tumultuous, drama.

Program note © Kathryn Bacasmot