The A major sonata, Op 30 No 1, is a subtle and rare work. If less demonstrative than other sonatas, it is quietly exploratory and innovative, and affectionately lyrical. Its mercurial first movement contrasts a rather quizzical and fleeting motif, soaring melodic lines, and sudden bursts of energy. Then the Adagio molto espressivo invites us deep into Beethoven’s spiritual world, profound and prayer-like. By way of a finale, an endearingly cheerful, songful theme gives way to a set of variations full of delight, humour and surprise. Twice in its final pages the music seems to get completely lost, improbably so—radical bars, staring fearlessly forward perhaps a hundred years—before turning on its heels as if nothing had happened.

from notes by Alasdair Beatson © 2024