ABSTRACT
Beethoven initially gave a verbal response to Franz Hoffmeister's agent in Vienna, indicating that he was happy to compose the sonata but not according to the 'caprice' specified. For Beethoven every sonata represented a new path, each one being highly distinctive and quite unlike any other. If Beethoven started working on the sonatas soon after receiving Hans Georg Nageli's initial commission, it could have been as early as June. Beethoven's initial concept sketch for the C major second movement in provides a brief synopsis of the movement, which is in ternary form with extended coda. Giovanni Cappi's Viennese edition bears the opus number 29, which caused some confusion at first, as this number had already been used for Beethoven's String Quintet in C. The main features of the sonata were now in place and Beethoven could set to work in detail on the first movement.
