♫ So now we move on – or is it back? – to op. 49 no. 1, in g minor. This sonata’s proportions are comparable to those of no. 2, but while I don’t know that it could reasonably be called more ambitious, it is certainly a more distinctive work. This sonata, again, is in two movements, but its shape is rather different. Whereas op. 49 no. 2 opens with a sonata allegro, no. 1’s first movement, while also in sonata form, is a gentle andante – quite atypical of Beethoven. And unlike the moderately paced menuet that closes op. 49 no. 2, no. 1’s second movement is a high spirited and even a bit virtuosic rondo. (These two sonatas have been published as "leichte sonaten" or "easy sonatas" – in the case of no. 2, the label certainly applies. But with number 1, I’m not so sure I agree!) Anyway, this sonata model – two movements, slow then fast – is one that Haydn often used, so Beethoven was emulating his teacher here. So, when I say that this sonata is more distinctive than its neighbor, I don’t mean that it is more formally adventurous or surprising. The difference really is in the material itself; the first movement, in particular, is much less impersonal. I don’t want to overstate this: if one were to listen to this sonata without knowing who wrote it, I’m not sure it would be easy to identify as Beethoven. But the first movement of op. 49 no. 2 has an emotional neutrality about it, whereas this first movement is plaintive and really quite affecting. Here is the first movement’s exposition. ♫ Not “echt’ Beethoven, perhaps, but truly beautiful. Beyond the beauty, there’s not much that needs to be pointed out here, but I would like to make note of the way in which the second theme, in a sunnier B flat major in the exposition, ♫ is restored to g minor in the recapitulation. ♫ This is standard issue minor-key sonata stuff, but the way in which the dolce B flat major becomes truly dark when transposed into minor gives this movement an emotional profile far beyond anything we heard in the “previous” (or is it subsequent?) sonata. Also worth hearing is the coda of this movement – the existence of a coda is already something which moves it beyond op. 49 no. 2. ♫ Even with that “Picardy third” leaving it in major, there is a real resignation about this. Again, I’m not sure there’s anything in this movement that is unmistakably Beethoven, and that makes it unlike really just about any of the other 30 sonatas. But its beauty and firmly etched emotional profile make it a step up from its companion piece.
