Book excerpt: Beethoven's ten violin sonatas, time-honored favorites of violinists, pianists, and their audiences, reflect the great composer's determination to make the interrelationship between the violin and the piano a more intimate one, and to create a more even and intricate balance between the two instruments than had previously existed in the genre. Ranging in mood and style from the brilliant and virtuosic "Kreutzer" Sonata to the pastoral, lyrical "Spring" Sonata, they include: Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1; Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2; Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 12, No. 3; Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23; Sonata No. 5 in F Major ("Spring"), Op. 24; Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1; Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30, No. 2; Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3; Sonata No. 9 in A Minor ("Kreutzer"), Op. 47; Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96. All ten of these beautiful and challenging masterworks are reprinted here from the authoritative edition prepared by Breitkopf & Hartel. Beautifully printed and sturdily bound, this handsome volume offers violinists, pianists, and music lovers the opportunity to study and enjoy the scores in one convenient, inexpensive source. "