Sonata for piano and violin (A major) op. 47

The 'Kreutzer' Sonata for Piano and Violin op. 47, composed in 1802-03, was not Beethoven's first attempt at the genre, for he had already written eight sonatas for the same two instruments. Yet with it he created something new, different and unexpected. The difference is reflected in the titles: opp. 12, 23, 24 and 30 are still called 'sonatas for piano with a violin' or even ‘with violin accompaniment’, i.e. the piano is named first, as tradition required, although the two instruments are already de facto equal partners. This changed with op. 47. The title of the original edition explicitly reads 'Sonata per il Pianoforte ed un Violino obligato, scritta in uno stile molto concertante, quasi come d'un concerto' (Sonata for piano and obligato violin, written in an extremely concertante style, almost like a concerto). The violin is no longer an accompanying instrument but 'obligato', indispensable. The title also alludes to the high level of virtuosity that pervades the sonata. For Beethoven’s contemporaries the 'Kreutzer' sonata was at least unusual, which caused the critic of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung to call it 'strange' in 1805 and to opine that one had to be a follower of 'aesthetic or artistic terrorism' in order to enjoy it. (J.R.)