November 10, 2025 – February 10, 2026
Exhibition Hall, 5th Floor of the Martin Luther King Jr Library
Curated by Patricia Stroh

Beethoven composed his piano sonatas over a span of nearly forty years. He completed the three “Kurfürsten” sonatas, WoO 47, in 1783, when he was only twelve years old, and the last sonata, Opus 111, in 1822. As a group, the sonatas represent the remarkable evolution of his approach to composition, and individually they have inspired countless concert pianists, teachers, students, and listeners. Since Beethoven’s lifetime to the present day, no fewer than 235 collected editions of these sonatas have been published, prepared by more than 160 different editors. Why so many? This exhibit, which features a select set of these editions, highlights competing efforts of publishers to meet the demand from pianists and teachers, and editors who sought to provide new perspectives on these iconic works. The exhibit is based on the forthcoming book, Beethoven GPS: A Bibliographic Guide to Collected Editions of the Piano Sonatas by Patricia Stroh (A-R Editions, 2026)

Exhibit Hall Hours:

Monday: 10:00am-6:00pm
Tuesday: 9:45am-6:00pm
Weds: 11:00am- 6:00pm
Thurs: 9:45am-6:00pm
Friday: 11:00 am-6:00pm
Sat: 1:00pm- 6:00pm
Sunday: Closed

Please note the exhibit hall hours are not the same as the Beethoven Center's hours.

With assistance from Peter Adams, Ethan Ling, Roslyn Lydick, and Jeffrey Nguyen

Funded by the American Beethoven Society