Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 16 in major, Op. 31 No. 1, [bad word] between 1801 and 1802. Although it was numbered as the first piece in the trio of piano sonatas which were published as Opus 31 in 1803, Beethoven actually finished it after the Op. 31 No. 2, the Tempest Sonata.

Due to his dissatisfaction with the classical style of music, Beethoven pledged to take a new path of [bad word] and style. The Opus 31 works are the first examples of Beethoven's new and unconventional ideas, an attempt to make a name for himself in the annals of music history. It is important to take into account that these pieces were written after the famous Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802.

This sonata is light, breezy and has touches of humour and irony in its movements.[1] Critics say that the Opus 31 works show now a more pronounced "Beethovenian" sense of style that will [bad word] more evident in later, mature works.