Beethoven Grande Sonate Pno Op26 Ab BA

Beethovens four-movement Sonata in A-flat major Op.26 belongs to his most popular works. It is dedicated to Prince Lichnowsky, one of his most generous patrons and the dedicatee of, for example, the Grande Sonate pathtique Op.13 and Symphony No.2 Op.35. The works initial drafts date from 180001; it was first published in March 1802.

This demanding sonata is highly varied in its form: it begins with a set of variations and contains the famous Marcia funebre sulla morte dun Eroe as its third movement, earning it the nickname Sonata with the Funeral March. The identity of the titles eroe (hero) remains unknown to the present day. The march was performed at Beethovens funeral on 29 March 1827 in an arrangement for orchestra.

For this Brenreiter edition Jonathan Del Mar, possibly as one of the first editors of a modern edition, consulted the composers autograph in the original. This enabled him to decipher details of Beethovens handwriting in particular with regard to the exact notation of doubtful slurs. The result is a most reliable and thoroughly-researched musical text. Differing readings and editorial decisions are documented in the Critical Commentary. The edition has been finely engraved and includes practical page turns. Information on central issues of historical performance practice (pedalling, ornaments, tempo, dynamics, articulation) is provided in a detailed chapter.

- Scholarly-critical Urtext edition based on most recent Beethoven research

- Evaluation of Beethovens autograph in the original

- Elegant engraving with practical page turns

- Informative Introduction (Eng / Ger)

- Discussion of central performance practice issues (Eng / Ger)

- Detailed Critical Commentary (Eng)

Piano Sonata in A flat major Op.26 (Funeral March)