Pieces / Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 8 “Pathétique” · 2nd movement

Pathétique Sonata, Adagio

Ludwig van Beethoven, 1798 · Adagio cantabile · 23 keys · Medium

About the piece

Beethoven wrote his Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor around 1798, and it was published in Vienna in 1799 as the « Grande Sonate pathétique ». Its slow middle movement, the Adagio cantabile in A-flat major, opens with a singing theme that became one of the best-loved melodies in the piano repertoire.

You play the opening theme of the Adagio, one hand, moved to D major to fit the 17 keys.

Key
A-flat major
Played in
D major, a tritone higher
Time
2/4
Keys
23
Licence
Public domain

Pathétique Sonata, Adagio letters

The whole passage, as letters to type. P is a black key; a dash holds the note a little longer.

T - D - H - G T H L ; H - U
J - D - T G H - E - G - T D S W D - S -