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So, I've spoken a bit about the sense of scope and ambition in
this sonata, and that extends to almost every aspect of its construction.
Again, the mere presence of a fourth movement is a real novelty in
a sonata at that point, and the placement of the movements--a sonata form allegro
followed by a slow movement, followed by the menuet, followed by the rondo--
that is precisely the formula for the classical symphony.
So, just as with Haydn and Mozart, the reality of this piece
being a sonata--being played by one person, probably only in a home,
rather than by many, probably in a hall--
means that Beethoven could use the work as a venue for experimentation to a greater
extent than he could with the symphonies.
But these early piano sonatas are decidedly more public
than the solo works of Mozart or Haydn are.
Somewhat ironically this sense of privacy in
the piano sonata comes back later in Beethoven's career.
What is also notably symphonic in Opus 7 is the use of the instrument.
By that I don't mean that the piano occasionally
plays something that is meant to imitate an orchestral instrument.
That's not new to Beethoven, you know, bass lines in Haydn are obviously bassoon-
like in many cases. There are other examples which are similar.
What is more meaningful is that in scope, Beethoven really seems to be aiming beyond
the piano. So, take this passage from later in the exposition
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Beethoven seems to be in search of a
resonance which is not really inherent to the instrument.
You have these bell tones in the bass,
and what happens in the right hand is
presumably meant to sound like a reverberation around them.
Now, this is already quite difficult to achieve on a modern piano.
It must have been nearly impossible on a 1790s fortepiano.
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