Late piano sonatas (Beethoven)

The late piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven usually refer to the last five piano sonatas the composer composed during his late period.

• Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101
• Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier"
• Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109
• Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110
• Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

Some compilations may include Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90 as one of Beethoven's late piano sonatas.

Recordings

Complete cycle:

• Paul Lewis (Harmonia Mundi)
• Claudio Arrau (Philips Classics)
• Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca Classics)
• Wilhelm Backhaus (Decca Classics)
• Daniel Barenboim (2 recordings: 1 on Deutsche Grammophon, 1 on EMI Classics)
• Alfred Brendel (3 recordings: 2 on Philips Classics, reissued on Decca Classics; 1 on Brilliant Classics)
• Annie Fischer (Hungaroton)
• Claude Frank (Music and Arts)
• Walter Gieseking
• Richard Goode (Nonesuch)
• Glenn Gould (No. 28 on CBC Records, Nos. 29-32 on Sony Classical)
  • Gould's performances of Nos. 30-32 were previously released on Columbia Masterworks
• Friedrich Gulda (2 recordings: 1 on Decca Classics; 1 on Amadeo Records, reissued on Brilliant Classics and Decca Classics)
• Eric Heidsieck (EMI Classics)
• Wilhelm Kempff (2 recordings on Deutsche Grammophon)
• Stephen Kovacevich (EMI Classics)
• Yves Nat (EMI classics)
• Maurizio Pollini (Deutsche Grammophon)
• Sviatoslav Richter (various performances of each sonata on varying labels)
• Bernard Roberts (Nimbus)
• András Schiff (ECM Records)
• Peter Serkin (Musical Concepts)
• Rudolf Serkin (Sony Classical)
• Artur Schnabel (EMI Classics)
• Solomon (EMI Classics)
• Mitsuko Uchida (Philips Classics)

Partial cycle (3 or more):

• Christoph Eschenbach (Nos. 29-32 on EMI Classics)
• Emil Gilels (Nos. 28-31 on Deutsche Grammophon)

Of the five sonatas, the last one (in C minor) is the most often recorded, as heard in interpretations by Julius Katchen, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Mikhail Pletnev, Ivo Pogorelich, and Anatol Ugorski.

See also

• Piano sonatas (Beethoven)
• Diabelli Variations, another piano work composed during Beethoven's late period
• Bagatelles Op. 119 & Op. 126
• Schubert's last sonatas