On the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, on the evening of 26 March 2027, İbrahim Yazıcı takes the stage as pianist at the Ahmet Adnan Saygun Arts Center in İzmir. In this lecture-recital he performs four sonatas from different periods of Beethoven’s creative life, introducing each to the audience.

The programme opens with the Sonata in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1, from Beethoven’s first published set of piano sonatas, dedicated to Haydn. It continues with the “Moonlight” Sonata, Op. 27 No. 2, named after the poet Ludwig Rellstab’s comparison made after the composer’s death, and the Sonata in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2, known as the “Tempest”. The evening closes with Op. 111, Beethoven’s last piano sonata, in two movements.

Together these sonatas trace Beethoven’s journey from Classical form to Romantic expression in a single evening.