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Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) · sheet music

  • Key G major
  • Time 2/2
  • Levels 5–9
  • Passages 4

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). The reading release has 4 passages from this piece at levels 5–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 89–92 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 9.

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 Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo.

  1. Hands together · bars 89–92 level 5
  2. The hardest bars · bars 1–8 level 9

How to play Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo

  1. Tempo:Allegro ma non troppo means brisk but not too much, which is a warning against racing the triplets. Choose a speed at which the stately first theme still sounds noble.
  2. Right hand:Treat the triad-based theme like a spoken phrase, with a gentle lean toward the strongest note of each figure. Keep fingers close to the keys in the triplet runs so the sound stays even.
  3. Left hand:The left hand gets triplet figures of its own in places, not just chords. Practice them hands separately until they run as smoothly as the right hand's.
  4. Hands together:Balance is the real challenge: when both hands play triplets, make sure the hand with the melody is on top. Listen for any hand that sounds louder than it should.
  5. Dynamics:The first edition prints no dynamics, so use the ones in your edition as a guide and add your own gradual changes. A modest crescendo into the second theme helps.
  6. Practice:Practice the triplet passages with different rhythms (long-short-short, short-short-long) to build evenness, then return to the straight triplets.
  7. Fingering:Pick fingerings for the scale and triplet runs once and write them in. A consistent choice gives you the same hand position each time and removes surprises.

Common mistakes

  • Playing the triplets unevenly, with a lopsided third note. Fix: Work slowly with a metronome and stress each group's first note lightly.
  • Overusing the sustain pedal so the Classical clarity is lost. Fix: Use little or no pedal and let finger legato do the work.
  • Treating the whole movement as one dynamic level because none is printed in the first edition. Fix: Choose contrasts yourself, with the stately theme fuller and the second theme lighter.

Structure: sonata form (exposition, brief development, recapitulation)

The movement presents two themes, a stately one built on the G major triad and a playful one in D major built on the D major triad. The development is minimal, touching D minor, A minor and E minor, and the recapitulation presents the themes in G major and in C major.

Theme 1 · Stately opening (G major)
A theme that outlines a G major triad, announced in broad strokes. New to read: triad shapes spread across the hand.
Theme 2 · Lively second subject (D major)
A brighter, more bouncing tune in D major, again built on a triad of its key, with triplet passages in both hands.
Dev. · Short development
Fragments of the themes pass through D minor, A minor and E minor. Expect sharps and naturals that change quickly.
Recap · Return of both themes (G major and C major)
Both themes return in G major and in C major, rounding off the movement.

About Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo

The two sonatas of Op. 49 were composed in early to mid 1797 but not printed until 1805. Beethoven's brother Kaspar Karl judged them worth publishing and took them to a publisher against the composer's will. Because the opus numbers were handed out only at publication, these early pieces carry numbers that sit among much later works.

They are known as the Leichte Sonaten, the easy sonatas, intended for Beethoven's friends and students, and the G major is considered the easiest of all his piano sonatas. Each of the pair has just two movements; this one pairs the Allegro ma non troppo with a Tempo di Menuetto.

The Allegro ma non troppo is a compact sonata form with a stately main theme built on the notes of a G major chord and a lively second theme in D major. Neither the autograph nor the first edition carries dynamic markings, so any dynamics in a modern edition were added later.

  • The Tempo di Menuetto that follows this movement shares a theme with the Minuet of Beethoven's Septet, Op. 20, a later work from 1799 to 1800.
  • Neither the autograph nor the first edition has any dynamic markings.
  • Because opus numbers were assigned at publication in 1805, this 1797 sonata carries a number close to much later works.
  • In the recapitulation the themes are presented both in the home key, G major, and in C major, the subdominant.

Why the first passage is level 5

That passage is level 5 rather than 4 because a hand plays several notes at once, a hand plays full chords, a hand covers more than one position, it leaps a octave, its chords stretch wide, it is in 2/2, not 4/4, its chords go beyond simple triads.

One sharp (F#) for G major. Page passages move between the stately theme and triplet runs, so read the shapes of the chords first, then fill in the quicker notes.

Questions about Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo

How hard is Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo to play?
Its passages grade from level 5 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 5, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 89–92 for both hands together, the level-5 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 5 because a hand plays several notes at once and a hand plays full chords.
What key and time signature is Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo in?
Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo is in G major, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 2/2 time.
Who composed Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo?
Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). The two sonatas of Op.
Can I practice Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 4 graded passages from Sonata Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro ma non troppo in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Why is this sonata called an easy sonata?
Op. 49 is known as the Leichte Sonaten, meant for Beethoven's friends and students, and the G major sonata is considered the easiest of all his piano sonatas.
Did Beethoven want Op. 49 published?
Apparently not. His brother Kaspar Karl judged the sonatas worth printing and submitted them to a publisher against Beethoven's wishes, and they appeared in Vienna in 1805.
How long does the whole sonata take to play?
Each Op. 49 sonata lasts about eight minutes and has two movements.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 4 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 5
bars 89–92 both hands
Level 9
bars 1–8 both hands · bars 17–24 both hands · bars 49–56 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (mutopia-ly), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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