Page:Rolland - Beethoven, tr. Hull, 1927.pdf/181

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THE PIANOFORTE SONATAS
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quires the pedal to sustain each harmony, for nowhere is harmony put to such effective use as in the dreamy yet placid opening Adagio. There is scarcely a stir, except where an occasional minor 9th causes a slight emotional ripple.

A little Allegretto takes the place of the usual Minuet. It might be a dance of peasants, heard in the distance. The restless and passionate Presto is one of the finest movements in all the master's works.

Like the preceding Sonata, all the movements follow on without break. But there is a definite organic connection between them, the Finale, and the opening movement in particular. Compare the first four semiquavers of the Presto with the second quaver group of the Adagio, and the quaver chords in the second bar of the Presto with the melodic figure in bars 5 and 6 of the opening movement.

The second subject of the Finale has three well. defined sections, the first melodic, the second dolorous expressive chords, the third a souvenir of the first. The Coda is one of the most deeply expressive things Beethoven has ever written. It ends with a powerful gust of unpent passion.

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