Type: Piano solo
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Program: Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54, "Pathetique"
Soloist: Daniel Barenboim
Location: Palais Rasumofsky, Vienna, Austria
Year: 1984

Barenboim’s performance of Sonata No. 22 brings out the sonata’s unusual charm: compact, witty, and full of sharp contrasts. Barenboim gives the opening movement a poised, conversational quality, allowing its graceful theme and sudden disruptions to play off one another with elegant tension. In the second movement, he emphasizes Beethoven’s driving momentum without making the music feel rushed. The result is a performance that captures this sonata as mischievous yet refined.