First movement

The two Sonatinas in G and F, WoO Anh. 5 have been published under Beethoven's name since the nineteenth century, but modern scholarship is uncertain about the attribution; the pieces may be by a Beethoven contemporary or pupil. Whatever the authorship, they sit in continuous pedagogical use as introductions to Classical sonatina form at intermediate level.

The first movement of the G-major Sonatina is in 4/4 and tests proper Classical structure: a clearly-shaped exposition with two themes, a development that re-works the material, and a recapitulation that resolves it. The right hand carries running quaver lines and a singing second theme; the left hand provides Alberti-bass support and clear cadential figures. Hand position expands beyond a five-finger frame in places and the running passages need a planned fingering.

Two pitfalls. First, the Alberti bass can become mechanical — practise it alone and shape it before re-adding the right hand, with a small dynamic curve under each phrase. Second, students often play the development at the same tempo and dynamic as the exposition; the development should feel slightly more harmonically active, with a clear lift into the recapitulation.

The piece is widely available in clean public-domain editions on IMSLP. Hearing the matching second movement gives a complete sense of the sonatina's architectural shape.