71. Beginning and Ending in Vienna

Beethoven: Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3 Mozart: Viola Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 614 Beethoven wrote his Op. 10, No. 3 piano sonata in 1798, six years after moving to Vienna. In its elegance, structure, and charm, Beethoven’s early music is certainly indebted to the work of Haydn and Mozart. Yet the underlying drama and urgency that eventually became the hallmarks of Beethoven’s music can be detected even in the Classical style of this early piano sonata. Mozart’s Viola Quintet in E-flat Major was written in 1791. The viola was Mozart’s favorite string instrument, so writing for an ensemble that had two violas must have satisfied him. The work’s deft combination of virtuosity and melodiousness demonstrate Mozart’s compositional maturity. Sadly, this is the last chamber work the composer was to write; he died later that year.