Beethoven: Sonata No.4 in E-flat major, Op.7 – Boris Giltburg | Beethoven 32 project

Beethoven 32 – Over the year 2020, I will be learning and filming all 32 Beethoven sonatas. Subscribe to this channel to follow the project, and visit for blog posts and listening guides to each sonata. In 1796, a year after the successful publication of the three sonatas Op. 2, Beethoven composed the Grande Sonata for Pianoforte, Op. 7. By the ’Grande’ designation, Beethoven wanted to single it out as a special work, which didn’t need other sonatas to be published as an opus. Later, he would give the same epithet to the Pathétique, the Waldstein and the Hammerklavier. And the grandness totally applies to the music. It is a tangible evolution from the earlier three works, with extra richness in its textures and timbres (the E-flat major key lending itself to glowing brilliance – think the ’Emperor’ concerto years later!), and a more organic integration of virtuosity and music. But perhaps the biggest shift is in Beethoven’s imagination –