It may be hard to draw a point-to-point parallelism between Shakespeare’s play with the so-called ‘Tempest’ Sonata (Op. 31 No. 2), but it is not difficult to hear the play’s tragic drama, beautiful romance and wondrous magic in the sonata. In the third piece of Op. 31, Beethoven’s sense of humour returns with a shade of darkness. The two sonatas of Op. 49, in two movements each, display beauty in simplicity, contrasting with the splendid sublimity of the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata (Op. 53).
This event is part of the Complete Cycle of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, ‘Tempest’
Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, No. 3, ‘The Hunt’
Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49, No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49, No. 2
Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, ‘Waldstein’
