Angela Hewitt, the pianist on this recording, is renowned for her award-winning recordings of all major keyboard works of Bach, described as 'one of the record glories of our age'.
Compositional Technique
The Piano Sonata in F sharp major, Op 78, is the only piece Beethoven composed in this unusual key, so much so that he sometimes put the wrong number of sharps in the key signature.
Composition History
Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F sharp major, Op 78, is dedicated to Countess Therese von Brunswick, who was once considered a candidate for Beethoven's 'Immortal Beloved'.
Composer Biography
Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata in F sharp major, Op 78, during a period when his deafness was worsening and his emotional state was poor, amidst the French occupation of Vienna in 1809.
Composition History
Beethoven intended to dedicate his Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op 110, to Antonie Brentano, believed by Maynard Solomon to be his 'Immortal Beloved', but the letter to the publisher arrived too late.
Composer Biography
Beethoven's early sonatas often had four movements, which was a departure from the typical structure of the time.
Compositional Technique
In his Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op 110, Beethoven uses fragments of two popular Viennese songs, 'Unsa Kätz häd Katzln ghabt' and 'Ich bin lüderlich, du bist lüderlich', for comic relief.
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