Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.

Beethoven was born in Bonn. His musical talent was obvious at an early age. He was initially harshly and intensively taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven. Beethoven was later taught by the composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe, under whose tutelage he published his first work, a set of keyboard variations, in 1783. He found relief from a dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von Breuning, whose children he loved, befriended, and taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna, which subsequently became his base, and studied composition with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronised by Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest works to which he accorded an opus number) in 1795.

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24 in F? Major (Op. 78), nicknamed "à Thérèse" (because it was written for Countess Thérèse von Brunswick) was written in 1809. It consists of two movements: Adagio cantabile / Allegro ma non troppo & Allegro vivace. The second movement is a variation to the ending of the popular patriots song "Rule, Britannia!".

After a pause of four years, Beethoven returned to the piano sonata genre in 1809. Unlike its predecessor, the f-minor Sonata op. 57 (the “Appassionata”), this work strikes a new and lyrically cantabile tone that must have been the reason for its tradition-breaking two-movement structure; a slow middle movement would not have provided the necessary contrast to the outer ones. Just as unusual as the general character of opus 78 is its four-measure Adagio introduction; this does not directly refer to the subsequent motifs and themes, and serves no other purpose than to “conjure up the atmosphere of the entire sonata in our hearts” (Hugo Riemann). According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven himself singled out this sonata and the "Appassionata" Sonata as favourites (once written, the "Hammerklavier" Sonata" would also become one of Beethoven's favourites).

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._24_(Bee thoven)).

Although originally written for Solo Piano, I created this Interpretation of the Sonata in F# Major (Op. 78 No. 24) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).