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In 1797, John Adams was the American president, and he was fighting a naval cold war with France, all while being secretly undermined by Jefferson and Hamilton – and Hamilton was a member of Adams’ own party!

The Directory had succeeded the Terror in France, and this French government was militarily aggressive. Soon it would stick its long nose into American domestic politics via French-front organizations similar to the Communist-front organizations post-1917. Pro-French and pro-British mobs would fight in the streets of American cities, which would eventually lead to the Alien and Sedition Acts.

In the German-speaking world, Austria and the city-states were keeping a wary eye on France.

Beethoven, now 27, had another piano sonata ready, the Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 7, and this one was big enough to form an entire opus number. In fact, Lou labeled it a “grand sonata” and dedicated it to a countess with whom he had attempted to start a relationship but without success. Women of the period classified Beethoven as “too ugly and too crazy”.

The first movement is marked allegro molto con brio, “very quick with enthusiasm”, in 6/8 and E-flat. If you’ve followed the idea of a movement in sonata format from previous postings, you’ll recognize the first subject in E-flat, a somewhat frenzied transitional minor-to-major key passage, the second subject in B-flat and a liquidating conclusion in the minor.
At 2:28 the exposition is repeated.
At 4:44, it’s development time, and Lou concentrates on the first subject.
At 5:40, he recaps, carefully maneuvering it so that both themes will be in E-flat.
But at 7:43, there is an abrupt key change to a coda that settles everything back into E-flat with a bravura ending.

The slow movement is marked largo con gran espressione, “very slow with great expression”, in 3/4 and C Major. Notice how Beethoven uses rests – silences – to form the melody.
At 11:15, he enters a middle section in A-flat, F minor and D-flat.
At 13:55, he returns to the opening theme. He ends it with a short chord and a rest, which means that silence ends the movement.

The scherzo returns to E-flat, in 3/4, marked simply allegro. The surprise comes at 21:01. Usually, Beethoven marks his middle section of a scherzo movement as a “trio”, but this time he uses the term minore, “minor”. The key switches to E-flat minor (6 flats), for a section that is aggressively spooky before recapping without repeats.

The finale is a rondo in 2/4, marked poco allegretto e grazioso, “somewhat quick and gracious”.
At 28:45, he launches into a episode in C minor with running 32nd notes in the left hands and block chords in the right.
At 27:20 he returns to the gracious theme in E-flat.
But at 29:39, he plays a trick that will become a key moment in one of his late sonatas (Opus 106), where he suddenly goes up a semitone from B-flat to B to launch the rondo theme in E Major. It’s disorienting, and you wonder what he has up his sleeve. But Lou eases you back into E-flat in a manner as smooth as a sip of fine whiskey. (Brahms studied this trick!) There is a sense of homecoming as well as summing up as he deploys those 32nd notes in the left hand. He ends it with an 8th note E-flat chord followed by rests. The piece ends with silence. This concept was to become a big deal in his last sonata (Opus 111).

Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 7