Disgusted by the trend of publishers arranging other composers' piano works for string ensemble, Beethoven retaliated by arranging his own Piano Sonata No. 9 of 1798 for string quartet. The sonata was quite popular at the time, being easy enough for good amateurs to master. The transposition a semitone higher to F major is the only change (aside from instrumentation) Beethoven made to the original.

The first movement, Allegro, begins with a striving theme over an energetic chugging accompaniment, which is followed by a similarly ascending theme, this time moving on tiptoes; all of this is rounded out by related, upwardly stretching material. After the conventional exposition repeat, the development slides into an agitated minor mode to give the first subject an extensive workout, then presents the second theme group in only a slightly modified form that doubles as the recapitulation. It's all quite edgy, without becoming melodramatic.

The Allegretto movement strides firmly through a rather dark theme that's too fast to be tragic but too slow to be impetuous. A brighter, smoother B section offers some relief, after which the A section is repeated with a brief coda based on the B material.

The finale is a rondo designated Allegro comodo. Its nature is sweeter than that of the preceding movements, but the rondo is linked to the opening Allegro by its first theme's seeming determination to ascend to the top of the staff, if not beyond. This refrain weaves around two brief episodes that rely on busy passagework for their effect, then returns for a last truncated statement and an abrupt end.



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