Page:Rolland - Beethoven, tr. Hull, 1927.pdf/165



The first Sonata has the usual four movements of the Haydn form: Allegro—Adagio—Menuetto and Trio—Prestissimo. The first and the last are in the usual Sonata form proper. The slow movement follows Mozartian lines. This Sonata is the first of the set of three in this Opus, which are all dedicated to Joseph Haydn, and the fact of such a superscription points to the respect which Beethoven had for the older composer, although he could not find it in his heart to continue with him long as his pupil. The whole of the Sonata, which appeared for the first time in 1796 and was probably written much earlier, is decidedly con. ventional in form, and shews us Beethoven starting on the lines laid down by those who went before him—Philip Emanuel Bach, Haydn, and Mozart.

The first movement is pure Haydn music, and the only glimmer of the future Beethoven comes in with that lovely little tune at the Coda. The development portion is thin and characterless. The first subject of the second movement was