Due to his dissatisfaction with the classical style of music, Beethoven pledged to take a new path of musical composition and style. The Opus 31 works are the first examples of Beethoven's new and unconventional ideas, an attempt to make a name for himself in the annals of music history. For example, the first movement, unlike most sonata allegro forms, which the second theme of the exposition is dominant, the second theme is in B Major and minor, the mediant of the original key. Beethoven used this form in his later sonatas, like the Waldstein, Appassionata, and the Hammerklavier. It is important to take into account that these pieces were written after the famous Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802.

Date of composition 1802
First published 1803 Nageli
Type Sonata
Tonality G Major
Catalogue Op. 31
Approx. duration 20 minutes
Instruments Piano
Autotranslations beta Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonate pour piano n°16 en sol majeur, Op. 31
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata per pianoforte n. 16 in sol maggiore, Op. 31
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonate Nr. 16 für Klavier G-dur, Op. 31