In a span of only eight years, between 1794–1802, Beethoven composed twenty Piano sonatas, among them his so-called “Grande Sonate Pathétique” op. 13. It marks the consummation of his Classical style, yet also already alludes to his Heroic Period with its intensely Romantic characteristics. Composed in the “tragic” key of C minor, it foreshadows the expressive drama of later masterworks such as the Fifth Symphony or the Coriolan Overture.

Of the famous sonatas, this one is the most technicall...