In his Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, Beethoven went far beyond just composing a masterpiece. He reinvented the sonata itself.
In this short lesson from Noah Alden Hardaway’s Sonatas: Genre Overview course, you’ll see how the Pathétique bridges Classical structure and Romantic expression.
Beethoven begins with a slow, grand introduction (unusual for its time) that reappears later like a haunting recollection. This bold move gave the sonata a new psychological depth, transforming it from a formal design into a vessel for emotion and storytelling.
Watch Noah’s segment to understand how Beethoven’s innovations shaped the sonata as we know it — and why this genre remains one of music’s most enduring forms.
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