Creation of Beethoven's 35 Piano Sonatas

Barry Cooper is Professor of Music at the University of Manchester. He has a wide range of research interests from medieval to 19th-century music, notably on English Baroque music and the music of Beethoven and his contemporaries. A world authority on Beethoven, his books on the composer include Beethoven and the Creative Process (1990; 2nd edn, 1992), Beethoven’s Folksong Settings (1994), Beethoven (The Master Musicians, 2000; 2nd edn, 2008) and Beethoven: An Extraordinary Life (2013). He is also the General Editor and co-author of The Beethoven Compendium (1991; 2nd edn, 1996). His scholarly performing edition of Beethoven’s 35 Piano Sonatas (London: ABRSM, 2007) won the award 'Best Classical Publication' of the year from the Music Industries Association.

• List of music examplesList of tablesAbbreviationsPreface and acknowledgementsChapter 1: Approaching Beethoven’s piano sonatasChapter 2: The Bonn sonatasChapter 3: The Opus 2 sonatas and HaydnChapter 4: The sonatas of 1796–97Chapter 5: The sonatas of 1798–1800 Chapter 6: New century, new approachesChapter 7: A ‘new path’?Chapter 8: The middle period opens upChapter 9: A Clementi commissionChapter 10: Moving into the late periodChapter 11: The last three sonatasBibliographyIndex

'A much-needed study of the "story" of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Cooper guides us diligently through the evolution of these cornerstones of the pianist’s repertoire.'John Irving, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance'In this remarkable study, a first of its kind, Barry Cooper traces the compositional process of an entire genre, the thirty-five sonatas for the fortepiano, from Beethoven’s daring first set of three sonatas composed when he was twelve through the last sonata of 1821–22. The values of such a comprehensive look are clearly evident here, and Cooper supplements the analysis of the sonatas with his deep insights on the composition of the symphonies and other genres. Every pianist and scholar deeply engaged in the sonatas will be both intrigued and enlightened with both the details and long view of Cooper’s study.'Will Meredith, San José State University