Anton Eberl

Sonata in B flat major op. 50

Among Vienna's many composers and pianists of the time, Anton Eberl (1765-1807) was the one considered most worthy of comparison with Beethoven. His Sonata in B flat major, Op. 50, is probably the second of his seven sonatas with violin, and was published posthumously in Vienna the year after his death. The model for this work is Mozart's Sonata in B flat major, K454 (1784), from which Eberl has borrowed many structural and stylistic features: the grand, slow introduction of the first movement; the song-like second movement with its rocking accompaniment opening; and the gavotte-like closing rondo.