I had to do a detailed structural and harmonic analysis of the first movement when I was an undergraduate in music school. This was long before personal computers and I had to type the paper on a manual typewriter using Wipe-Out® to make corrections. Then I would write out the musical examples (again, way before the Finale or Sibelius notation programs) and tape them into the paper. I've still got my college work and it looks pretty good for its time; today, not so much!
The themes Beethoven wrote in this work are so powerful and beautifully developed. The dynamic and instrumental contrasts make this piece one of the stylistic transitional works from the Classical Period to the Romantic. Add to this the lack of symmetry and the profound aggressiveness of the music and you have a masterwork!
I suspect that the composer was able to play most of his music on the piano. Imagine a recording of him playing this work.
In a similar manner, my favorite Beethoven interpreters are Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein as conductors and Claudio Arrau and Daniel Barenboim as pianists, (with Alfred Brendel almost making the cut).
Thanks for the link, elleng!
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