Composed at about the same time as the “Grande Sonate pathétique” op. 13 (BA 10851), the two op. 14 sonatas are among the easiest Beethoven ever wrote and an indispensable part of piano lessons. Their lyrical, almost chamber-like textures and moderate difficulty make them an ideal introduction to the rich legacy of Beethoven’s sonatas.

Jonathan Del Mar, a scholar second to none in his knowledge of Beethoven’s music, now presents these sonatas in a cutting-edge Urtext edition based on the late...