This Sonata, which was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick, is perhaps the most truly characteristic of all Beethoven's sonatas. The usual portrait of Beethoven with the massive jaws firmly set, the upturned eyes, the visage lined by suffering, the head of a Titan, might be quite appropriately placed here in the volume of the Sonatas, rather than at the beginning; for with the deep passionate note which sounds ceaselessly throughout the first movement and the immense vitality of the _Finale_, the calm beauty of the _Andante_ with its variations, it holds the palm amongst all sonatas written for the clavier. Hackneyed it certainly is, but even through the indifferent temperaments of mere finger players, the immense force of the ideas easily penetrates. It is a superb example of the growth of Beethoven's immense creations from two of the tiniest of germs (a) the first three opening notes--_C_, _A flat_, _F_--(b) the _C_, _D_, _C_ in the third and fourth bars. The whole sonata grows as naturally from these as the huge oak from the acorn. Bridge subjects, second subjects, coda figures, the chief theme of the _Andante_, as also the _impetuoso_ subject of the _Finale_, are all derived from these two little germs. Lenz calls the Sonata "a volcanic eruption, which rends the earth and shuts out the sky with a shower of projectiles." The first movement and the last movement have truly immense _codas_. For a clue to this sonata, Beethoven told an enquirer to read Shakespeare's _Tempest_. 24th SONATA, Opus 78, in F sharp major. _Adagio cantabile (4 bars)--Allegro ma non troppo--Allegro vivace._ This Sonata was composed in October, 1809 (considerably later than _Les Adieux Sonata_, which was published in July, 1811) and appeared for the first time in December, 1810. Thus an interval of five years separates it from the _Sonata Appassionata_. It was dedicated to the Countess von Brunswick, and the piece was a special favourite with the composer. A delightful feeling of happiness pervates the whole piece, and one cannot help feeling that this cheerful mood drew the composer to the choice of this radiant key. The first four bars form a sort of question to which the succeeding _Allegro_ supplies the answer. The movements are succinct in form, almost epigrammatic, and whilst very gracious and pleasing, are not hefty for all sorts and conditions of hands. The opening phrase of the Finale is very striking, so, too, is the coda with its wonderful disappointed cadence and its equally marvellous finish. The intricate work of the arpeggios relates it to the E major Sonata, Opus 109, and all the way through it, there is a curious oscillation betwixt major and minor modes. 25th SONATA, Opus 79, in G. _Presto alla tedesca--Andante--Vivace._