When Beethoven was asked what he was trying to express in his piano sonata Op. He might have said the same of his Op. The rhythm of the dance, light and airy or heavy and clumping, is never far away. The first movement, Adagio ma non troppo alternating with Allegro, sums up all these qualities, beginning with a hint of sadness but soon moving into an excited dance. The sad opening is never quite forgotten, in fact it returns several times, but the main mood of the movement is one of fantasy.
Themes crowd upon one another and there is a barcarolle-like episode of unforgettable beauty.
Even Beethoven never wrote a movement of greater variety. The second movement is a scurrying Presto, full of humorous comings and goings and cross rhythms. The third movement, Andante con moto, ma non troppo, is a swinging contrast to this, with characterful use of pizzicato to offset its lyrical flow. As in all Beethoven's great slow movements, time stands still as we listen. The finale, Allegro, is a release from sorrow, with its fantastic fairy dance theme which trips away, promising an ending that is all lightness and grace.