Beethoven on Board - Sonata No. 1 in F Minor


Adagio (1)

Here, we find Beethoven adhering more to the Mozartian approach to writing a slow movement. I started playing the piano at a young age, attracted to Mozart’s music, and treasured a yellow-labelled – so it must have been Deutsch Gramophone – cassette tape of Mozart’s last piano concerto No.27. I would attempt to play by ear some of the themes, following which I was then sent to piano lessons. My feelings about Mozart’s music are aptly put in the quote from the film Amadeus, where Salieri describes Mozart’s music as ‘filled with unfulfillable longing’. This really does feel most appropriate in articulating the serene yet almost painful second movement.

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