Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 was written in 1808, Beethoven's second compositional period. Composed in the same year were the two piano trios of Op. 70 and the Choral Fantasy; in the same year Beethoven also completed and published his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies.^[1] The sonata was dedicated to Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein and first performed in March 1809 by cellist Nikolaus Kraft and pianist Dorothea von Ertmann.^[2] Beethoven composed five sonatas for cello and piano over his lifetime; Steven Isserlis described his third sonata as the first cello sonata in history to give equally important parts to both of the instruments.^[3]

	1st movement 3rd movement
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Form

The work consists of three movements:

1. Allegro ma non tanto
2. Scherzo. Allegro molto (in A minor)
3. Adagio cantabile – Allegro vivace.

The first movement opens with the cello alone; variations of its expansive main theme and a pair of contrasting secondary ideas give much cause to contrapuntal and melodic interplay between the two players.

The scherzo which follows, in the tonic minor (i.e. A minor), prominently features off-beat accents; the trio in the major is heard twice as in many of Beethoven's later scherzos.

The briskly-paced finale is preceded by a short slow introduction.

References

External links

• Cello Sonata No. 3: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven) at the Mutopia Project — Allegro, ma non tanto
• Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven) at the Mutopia Project — Scherzo
• Cello Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven) at the Mutopia Project — Adagio cantabile — Finale