Are Early Beethoven Piano Sonatas More Classical and the Later Beethoven Sonatas more Romantic? Need Advice?
Don’t worry, even late Beethoven is always considered classical by the standards you are talking about. Piano exams and competitions classify each composer by period, not each piece. So no matter what piece by Beethoven you play, it will count as a classical piece on your program, regardless of whether music historians can point out romantic aspects of it. However, both the pieces you listed would be considered Romantic because Schumann and Faure are both considered Romantic composers, so you might need to look for another piece besides the Beethoven sonata. In case you’re wondering where I’m getting my classifications, here is a link to a list of composer classifications that is, as far as I know, universally accepted (because the Music Teachers National Association has a lot of influence and these are their classifications): http://www.mtna.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2… Hope this helps. Good luck with your exam!
