The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven's 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120 (1823) and his two collections of bagatelles—Opus 119 (1822) and Opus 126 (1824), this was one of Beethoven's last compositions for piano. The work was written between 1821 and 1822. Like other "late period" sonatas, it contains fugal elements and is technically very demandin...
more
The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven's 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120 (1823) and his two collections of bagatelles—Opus 119 (1822) and Opus 126 (1824), this was one of Beethoven's last compositions for piano. The work was written between 1821 and 1822. Like other "late period" sonatas, it contains fugal elements and is technically very demanding.
The work is in two highly contrasting movements:
The first movement, like many other works by Beethoven in C minor (see Beethoven and C minor), is stormy and impassioned. It abounds in diminished seventh chords, as in for instance the first full bar of its opening introduction:
The final movement, in C major, is a set of variations on a 16-bar theme, with a brief modulating interlude and final coda. The third variation is remarkably jazzy and often referred to as the "boogie-woogie variation", and the last two are famous for introducing...
less
