Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique is a piano sonata from the Classical era, that looks ahead to Romanticism.

This earlier piano sonata by Haydn (composed in 1780) has many melodic features typical of piano sonatas of this time. These include:

• Balanced phrases - this is where phrase lengths tend to be short and mostly 2, 4 or 8 bars long. This sonata starts with 2 bar long phrases. This predictability adds to the typically elegant and refined essence of Classical music. The Classical style was often very symmetrical, as seen when looking at Classical architecture from the same period.

• Scalic/stepwise passages - a key melodic motif of this sonata is a descending stepwise 5 note idea, heard from the beginning. From 0'34, scalic passages become longer and virtuosic. Decorative melodies using scales were very typical in Classical sonatas.

• The use of arpeggios, triadic phrases or broken chords - Embedding arpeggios into melodies is also very Classical and adds to the eloquence and sophistication of the style. In this sonata, there are 3 descending arpeggios used in the melody heard from 0'10. A typical accompaniment in Classical music is called the Alberti bass, which is essentially a broken chord with a particular pattern (low - high - middle - high)

• Arch-shaped phrases - Again, this is very symmetrical. Melodies often rise in pitch and then descend making a satisfying arch-shape in pitch. Listen to the phrase from 0'17 for a good example.

• Appoggiaturas - Appoggiaturas often come at the end of Classical phrases and create a slight tension before resolving to the expected note. They almost give the melody a sense of yearning. Haydn uses these at the end of his first 2 phrases, and many more times throughout the movement.

Which of the following musical features from above can you pick out in this example?!

Many melodies in Beethoven's movement lend themselves well to this Classical style. For example:

• The first two bars contain a balanced question and answer melody, the second being a sequence of the first.

• The first subject melody (1'48, bar 11) is balanced in 8 bar phrases. It is also arch-shaped. This makes it a typically satisfying melody in a Classical style.

• There are some quick scalic runs in the introduction, with the passage running into the exposition being chromatic (1'42, bar 10). Also check out the quaver runs at the end of the exposition (from 3'05, bar 123).

• At bar 89, the melody is entirely made up of broken chords with an Alberti bass simultaneously heard in the left hand.

• There are some decorative ornaments used, such as trills in bar 182 and also mordents and grace notes/acciaccaturas in the second subject.

Other melodic features are quite revolutionary and Beethovian! He didn't always play by the Classical rules and liked to push the boundaries of convention to allow for a sense of expression and individual flair. For example:

• The chromatic scale used in the introduction has been discussed. Beethoven did this more than his predecessors would have done, purely for creating a greater sense of exhilaration. Listen from 2'50 (bar 93) where the first of every four quavers is spelling out an ascending chromatic scale, adding to the tension.

• The use of appoggiaturas in the development is quite drastic. From bar 149, the left hand plays a series of these but with some quite angular leaps in pitch that create a sense of disorientation.

• Beethoven creates a murky bass in the left hand during the first subject with the use of broken octaves. They are "murky" because at the quick tempo it is hard to distinguish each individual note (especially with the piano's sustain pedal) and they become blurry. This creates quite an intense feeling!

• In the coda, Beethoven removes the first note and chord from the expected introduction melody at bar 295. This is particularly suspenseful because it delays the expected conclusion of the movement we are waiting for.