Sonata in B flat major, Op.22

If the Sonata in B flat, Op.22, is not one of the most popular items in the Beethoven piano repertoire it is not because it is one of the less inspired. On the contrary, inspiration in this work is so intense that it is sometimes uncomfortable to live with, in a way not entirely unlike that of the other B flat Sonata, the “Hammerklavier.” Any resemblance to Mozart - and, as in other major works written round about 1800, there are obvious stylistic similarities - is purely superficial.

Although it would be an exaggeration to claim that the whole sonata derives from the group of four semiquavers heard in each of the four opening bars, the first movement is actually concerned with little else while the other three at least acknowledge the importance of its long-term structural function. There are few bars in the Allegro con brio - they are nearly all in the second subject - which do not allude to the four-note motif in one way or another. In fact, that figure holds the movement so firmly in its grasp that, while it inhibits expansion of other melodic ideas, it allows the composer to take all kinds of harmonic liberties without endangering the structure. Harmonic enterprise is evident as early as the transition from first to second subject but it is in the development section where, in fantasia-fashion, it flourishes. It is also in the development that, by concentrating exclusively on the four-note motif and (curiously consigned to the very bottom of the keyboard) the closing theme of the exposition, Beethoven demonstrates what his priorities are.

The slow movement is more than melodious enough to compensate, its line so elaborately decorated that it anticipates Chopin in places. So from time to time, but particularly in the emotionally fraught development section, do the harmonies. The clear reference to the four-note motif in the penultimate bar confirms that other, apparently less deliberate allusions, like the group of four semiquavers so prominent in the main theme, are not unintentional.

A similar group of four semiquavers is still more prominent, even obsessively prominent, in the Menuetto. Beethoven’s efforts to shake off the motif result only in a Trio section grimly dominated by it. The final Rondo, on the other hand, is reconciled to it. The four-note motif is now integrated in the gently flowing main theme without in any way threatening its serenity. There are obstacles on the way, not least a tenacious episode in B flat minor, but the happy ending is never in serious doubt.