Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann, née Graumen. This sonata marks the beginning of what is generally regarded as Beethoven's final period, where the forms are more complex, ideas more wide-ranging, textures more polyphonic, and the treatment of the themes and motifs even more sophisticated than before. Op. 101 well exemplified this new style, and Beethoven exploits the newly expanded keyboard compass of the day. Movements This piano sonata consists of four movements: A complete performance of the work takes about 19–22 minutes. First movement This movement is in A major, time, and in sonata form. The tempo marking for the opening movement, Etwas Lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung, is roughly translated as "somewhat lively and with the warmest feeling." (This term is used on the first published score but not on the autograph, which has only "Allegretto ma non troppo.) Four-part harmony and contrapuntal texture is used throughout the movement. Though the sonata is marked as being in A major, Beethoven does not write any cadences on the tonic key; the exposition and development do not include a single root position A major chord. The first tonic chord in root position appears towards the end of the recapitulation. It appears once more at the end of the recapitulation, but even then is blunted by the omission of the fifth scale degree. Second movement The second movement is in F major, time. It takes the form of a march in ternary form, and is characterized by dotted rhythms, harmonic dislocation and alternation between static and accelerando. The middle section is in B major, mostly composed in strict canonic structure. Third movement The third movement begins with a slow introduction in A minor, time. The opening melody of the first movement is recalled just as the introduction nears its conclusion in original tempo and meter. Fourth movement The Finale in time begins without pause, and returns to the key of the first movement, in A major. It is a grand contrapuntal movement in which Beethoven explored the newest keyboard set in his command, using the lowest E (E1) on the piano near the end. This movement is the longest and most technically challenging one in the sonata, including a dense and 100-bar-long fugato in four voices as its development section. History