The Creation of Beethoven's 35 Piano Sonatas

Beethoven’s piano sonatas are a cornerstone of the piano repertoire and have been the subject of much scholarship, but no single study gives an adequate account of the processes by which these sonatas were composed and published. Barry Cooper, who in 2007 produced a new edition of all 35 sonatas, examines each sonata in turn, drawing on the composer’s sketches, autograph scores and early printed editions, as well as contextual material such as correspondence. Cooper explores the links between the notes and symbols found in the musical texts of the sonatas, and the environment that brought them about. The result is a biography not of the composer, but of the works themselves.