Piano Sonata No. 16 (Beethoven)

Although it was numbered as the first piece in the trio of piano sonatas which were published as Opus 31 in 1803, Beethoven actually finished it after the Op.

The Opus 31 works are the first examples of the new and unconventional ideas Beethoven adopted in an attempt to make a name for himself.

Beethoven would later continue to use the mediant and submediant as expositional goals for major-key sonata-form movements, such as the first movements of the Waldstein and Hammerklavier sonatas, the Archduke trio, the triple concerto and the thirteenth string quartet, as well as the finale to the seventh symphony.

The humorous main theme is littered with brisk, semiquaver passages, and chords written in a stuttering fashion, suggesting that the hands are unable to play in unison with one another.

Schiff explained this theory in a master class on this sonata;[2] he said it is totally uncharacteristic of Beethoven because it is not economical, it is incredibly long, everything is too ornamented, it is filled with "show-off cadenzas [...] trying to make a cheap effect" and bel canto-like elements and rhythms.