Piano Sonata No. 2 (Beethoven)

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Piano Sonata No. 2
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Cover of 1862 edition of Beethoven's first three piano sonatas (Breitkopf & Härtel)
Key	A major
Opus	2/2
Style	Classical period
Form	Piano sonata
Composed	1795 (1795)
Dedication	Joseph Haydn
Published	1796, Vienna
Publisher	Artaria
Duration	22 minutes
Movements	4
Audio samples
I. Allegro vivace (6:31) file help
II. Largo appassionato (7:26) file help
III. Scherzo: Allegretto (3:27) file help
IV. Rondo: Grazioso (5:48) Recorded c. 1932, performed by Artur Schnabel file help

Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and third sonatas in 1796.

Donald Francis Tovey wrote, "The second sonata is flawless in execution and entirely beyond the range of Haydn and Mozart in harmonic and dramatic thought, except in the Finale."^[1]

A typical performance of the entire sonata lasts about 22 minutes.

The sonata was the first Beethoven sonata to reach America and was performed in New York on June 5, 1807.^{[citation needed]}