Page:Rolland - Beethoven, tr. Hull, 1927.pdf/207

Rh ness of the Andante in the brilliant variations which follow it, and this is all the more wonderful because this piece is the most virtuoso-like of all Beethoven's chamber-music. Tenderness with Beethoven is no maudlin sentiment, but the gentle sympathy of a strong man. The Tarantelle-like Finale originally belonged to the Sonata of Opus 30, No. 1, A major, but, as Beethoven had been dilatory in his commission, the time having arrived and no Finale, he took the Finale from the earlier Sonata and wrote a new one for it later on.

This was written in 1810 and dedicated to Beethoven's firm friend and patron, the Archduke Rudolph. Although not really characteristic of the master's latest style, which does not commence until Opus 106, yet it is the most intimate of all the violin sonatas. It stands amongst the very great works and is indeed in some ways superior to the C minor. The Adagio, calm and sublime, is one of the most beautiful things in music. The scoring is like that of a string quartet. The ending dies away and creeps almost imperceptibly into the Scherzo through an unexpected C sharp. Full of life and bubbling over with fun, it has a