Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) · sheet music
- Key A-flat major
- Time 2/4
- Levels 8
- Passages 1
Your turn · both hands
Preparing your passage…
Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). The reading release has 1 passage from this piece at level 8; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 17–20 for both hands together.
The hardest stretch is bars 17–20 at level 8.
Your practice path
Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile.
- Hands together · bars 17–20 level 8
How to play Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile
- Tempo:Adagio cantabile means slow and singing. Take a pace at which you can hear each melody note ring into the next without dragging.
- Right hand:Play the melody with a deep, connected sound. Think of a cello or a singer, and match the arm weight to the length of each note.
- Left hand:The left hand rocks gently in the accompaniment. Keep it clearly softer than the melody and even in rhythm, with no accents.
- Hands together:The melody should float above the accompaniment. Practice with the left hand very quiet, then add the right hand and aim for a single tone color.
- Pedal:Pedal lightly and change with the harmony so that the long notes connect without blurring. Use your ear: if the harmonies smear, lift.
- Dynamics:Shape each phrase with a gentle rise to its highest note and a taper afterward. The contrast between the theme and the more restless episodes is part of the drama.
- Practice:Sing the melody while playing the left-hand accompaniment alone. If you can sing the line, your right hand will follow the same shape.
Common mistakes
- Letting the accompaniment get as loud as the melody. Fix: Practice the accompaniment so softly that you can barely hear it, then bring the right hand forward.
- Dragging the tempo until the melody loses its line. Fix: Keep a steady pulse in the left hand and think in long phrases, not single beats.
- Over-using the pedal so chords bleed into each other. Fix: Change the pedal at each harmony change and lift briefly if the sound feels smeared.
- Playing the repeated theme the same way each time. Fix: Give each return a slightly different color so the rondo feels like a story.
Structure: rondo (A-B-A-C-A with coda)
A singing theme in A-flat major returns three times, separated by two episodes that move away from it before coming home. A short coda ends the movement. The music is quiet and reflective throughout.
- A · Main theme (A-flat major)
- A long, hymn-like melody in the right hand above a steady, rocking accompaniment. This is the part that needs a true legato touch.
- B · First episode
- A contrasting section that starts in F minor and moves to E-flat major. Expect new accidentals as the key shifts.
- A · Theme returns (A-flat major)
- The main melody comes back in A-flat major, now familiar to the ear.
- C · Second episode
- A darker contrast that begins in A-flat minor and moves to E major, with triplet motion in the accompaniment. This is the most accidental-heavy stretch to read.
- A · Final return and coda (A-flat major)
- The theme returns one last time, its accompaniment now taking on the triplet rhythm of the second episode, and a brief coda closes the movement.
About Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile
Beethoven composed the Pathétique Sonata in 1798 and published it in 1799, dedicating it to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. The title Grande sonate pathétique came from the publisher, and it was to Beethoven's liking. The sonata has three movements, and the second is the Adagio cantabile in A-flat major.
This movement is a simple rondo. Its warm main theme appears three times, with two contrasting episodes between the appearances and a brief coda at the end. The long melody sits over a gently moving accompaniment, so the piece is a good exercise in making a piano sing.
The theme has had a long life outside the concert hall. It was the theme music of the radio program Adventures in Good Music, hosted by Karl Haas from 1970 to 2007, and Billy Joel built the chorus of his song This Night, from the album An Innocent Man, on it, crediting Beethoven on the album.
- A ten-year-old Ignaz Moscheles copied the whole sonata by hand from a library copy in 1804 because he could not afford to buy it.
- Musicologists have linked the sonata to Mozart's C minor Piano Sonata, K. 457, whose slow-movement theme is strikingly similar to this one.
- Billy Joel's This Night lists L. v. Beethoven as a co-writer on the album sleeve because the chorus is based on this movement.
Why the first passage is level 8
That passage is level 8 rather than 7 because it leaps a minor third plus an octave, its chords go beyond simple triads.
The passage here is a single, high-level excerpt, with a wide melody and a full accompaniment. Read the top line first, then add the accompaniment under it.
Questions about Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile
- How hard is Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile to play?
- Its passages grade from level 8 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 17–20 at level 8.
- Is there an easy part of Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile for beginners?
- Its easiest passage is level 8, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 17–20 for both hands together, the level-8 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 8 because it leaps a minor third plus an octave and its chords go beyond simple triads.
- What key and time signature is Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile in?
- Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile is in A-flat major, 4 flats. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
- Who composed Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile?
- Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). Beethoven composed the Pathétique Sonata in 1798 and published it in 1799, dedicating it to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky.
- Can I practice Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile online for free?
- Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from Pathétique Sonata: II. Adagio cantabile in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
- Who is the Pathétique Sonata dedicated to?
- Beethoven dedicated it to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky.
- Which Billy Joel song uses the Pathétique Adagio?
- Billy Joel's song This Night, from the album An Innocent Man, uses the melody and harmony of this movement for its chorus, and the album credits L. v. Beethoven as one of the writers.
- Is the Pathétique Adagio in the public domain?
- Yes. Beethoven died in 1827, so the original is in the public domain. Modern editions can have their own rights, but the engraving on this page comes from a public-domain source.
Every passage, easiest first
The reading release grades one passage of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:
- Level 8
- bars 17–20 both hands
More pieces to sight-read
Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.