Ian Fountain

The two Sonatas op. 5 were written in 1796 expressly for the young Beethoven's performance with the cello virtuoso Jean Louis Duport at the Berlin court. That he wasn't eclipsed by the latter was ensu...

The variation genre occupied Beethoven his whole artistic life. Collected in the second volume of G. Henle Publishers' complete edition of piano variations are compositions from his middle and later V...

Beethoven's '33 Variations on a waltz by A. Diabelli', composed between 1819 and 1823, are his most significant contribution to the genre. The notice announcing the publication of the first edition ap...

The two Sonatas op. 5 were written in 1796 expressly for the young Beethoven's performance with the cello virtuoso Jean Louis Duport at the Berlin court. That he wasn't eclipsed by the latter was ensu...

The Fifteen Variations (with Fugue) op. 35 composed in 1802 are known primarily by their sobriquet 'Eroica Variations' because the theme is also used in the finale of the Third Symphony. Together with...

Like the 'Eroica Variations' op. 35, the Variations op. 34, were composed in 1802 on an original theme. The 'new fashion' Beethoven declared for both works to his publisher becomes apparent in opus 34...

Of Beethoven's five cello sonatas, the Grande Sonate op. 69, published in 1809, is not only the centrepiece, but also musically the most significant. The artful coupling of the two instruments is on d...

Written in 1815, the two Sonatas op. 102 mark the transition to the often austere sonorities of Beethoven's late style. One reviewer of the original edition noted in 1818 that they 'doubtless number a...

Written in 1815, the two Sonatas op. 102 mark the transition to the often austere sonorities of Beethoven's late style. One reviewer of the original edition noted in 1818 that they 'doubtless number a...