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I always wanted to play one of the Beethoven sonatas well enough for public performance. Being an amateur I decided to avoid the most popular and well-known sonatas. Not a problem, really, since all of the Beethoven sonatas are great pieces and very interesting to work with.
After a lot of trial and error, I went for Op.10 no.3. Maybe I'm wrong, but this sonata seems to be somehow neglected. Musically it is very interesting, and I find it just as brilliant as the Patethique. The first movement, indeed, has much in common with Op.13, the development part being the highlight. The second movement is an astoundingly beautiful Largo containing a short "arioso" that appears only once.
The third movement is also very charming, and both of the middle movements could very well be performed as individual pieces. The Rondo finale is the movement that gives me most technical challenges, but large sections of it are relatively easy, meaning that it is possible to concentrate the effort on the difficult points.

I may consider to start working on another Beethoven sonata in addition to 10/3. Do any of you have any favourites among the less frequently performed sonatas?

Op. 10 No. 2 is very fun/funny. I enjoyed working on it and analyzing it very much.

Some of my favorites that are not a lot performed are ops. 31/3, 101, 7, 27/1.

Op. 10/3 is very popular at colleges and universities, and shows up on a lot of auditions. It's a great piece, and has one of my favorite rondos of all time.

I also agree with vvanrij - each of those sonatas is wonderful. I'm sure 101 would be played more if it were easier (I've played it, and it's a NIGHTMARE.) 31/3 is really cute, and the slow movement of 7 is sublime.

If I had the capacity, I would have played Op.101, but it is out of question due to its technical difficulty. I admire everyone who can play it well, and it is a most beautiful composition.

The two Sonatas I considered along with Op.10/3 when I made my choice were Op.2 no.3 and Op.22. I like both of them very much, but Op.2/3 is too difficult, and I found that I simply liked 10/3 better than Op.22.

It was the last Beethoven sonata I learned before the Op. 53. Fascinating piece, and -dare I say it- more interesting than its sibling.

I agree about the difficulties of Op 101. My prof often complained about an especially awkward moment at the start of the final mov't. As for the Op. 22, it is certainly off the beaten path, though I did hear it once in concert- and not part of a complete Beethoven cycle. But it has always been the odd one out for me. Like all the Beethoven sonatas, it is supremely well written, but I hope I'll be forgiven if I just don't find the melodic material very distinguished. IMO of course.

Wow you played 101, 27/1 and 53, I'm so jealous haha. And you are just 5 years older than me, you must have a lot of talent (and put in hard work of course!). I hope one day I can say the same, for now, my main focus is perfecting 79 and 14/1, and learning op2/1.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that I played the Op. 101, just that my prof complained about its difficulties when he played it! The Op. 53 was the last Beethoven sonata I learned (and probably the hardest piano piece I ever brought to performance level) before switching to organ and church music.

Well the Waldstein is still very much out of my reach, but my goal is still to be able to play all 32 beethoven sonata's one day (even if that will mean the hammerklavier at 50% of the speed :))

If you're dead set on doing a sonata, then some good advice has already been given. But there are some other lesser-known works of Beethoven you may want to consider. For instance, the Polonaise Op 89, Fantasy Op 77, and Andante Favori are all rather nice, technically accessible, and in my opinion, underperformed. Some of his sets of variations are quite nice as well, as are the sets of bagatelles.

opus 39, zwei praeludien
Opus 51, rondo's
Opus 129, alla ingharese quasi un capriccio

Yes beethoven wrote many more masterpieces besides his sonata's.

Andras Schiff included the Andante Favori on his Beethoven Sonata cd's, which I highly recommend!

That's a good point, 8ude. I think we tend to forget (or at least I do) that there's considerable life after the Diabelli, Eroica and C minor Variations. I'm thinking of the delightful sets in F (Op. 34) and D (Op.76) which may not be so heaven-storming, but at least they're within the grasp of a non-concert level pianist. Also don't forget the variations on God save the King and Rule Britannia. I suspect they were publisher's commissions, but any Beethoven is always going to have something of interest... and that is certainly the case here!

Btw, is it just me, or do others also hear a bit of Rule Britannia in Op78 second movement.

Alfred Brendel did as well.

One of the best of all the sonatas that no one ever plays is 31/1 in G major.

Not only are all three movements really awesome, but the whole sonata is extremely fun to play (especially the rondo).

Yes, on interpretation I agree with Andras Schiff. The piece is humorous, first the 2 hands that can't sync, and then that adagio with the ridiculous ornaments and opera like runs and bass lines. Its well fun, but not easy.

The Andante favori definitely is a great non-sonata choice. Though I personally find it harder than it appears to be. It gets pretty tough in the coda with the octaves and double-notes, although they don't have to be played fast. A very beautiful piece though.

Hey! I am working on that Polonaise. My HS piano teacher introduced it to me but I was "Queen of the first 2 pages" back then and that's as far as I got I've resurrected it 30 years later - mostly because my teacher was thrilled to find I had worked on a piece she didn't know and hadn't heard a million times

It's really not very well known is it? Very few people seem to have heard of it - I was looking for recordings of it (I've already mostly learned it just having some difficulty conceptualizing the repeated figures in the key change section...don't know what you call it...it just seems to stall there). I only found 3 recordings, none of which I liked.

I have been reduced to listening to recordings of other polonaises because part of the problem is I just don't know the genre that well...have hardly played any Chopin (gasp)

Any suggestions on the piece would be gratefully received!!

Absolutely! And speaking of Op. 78. That is another wonderful, underplayed sonata.

Ow yes, my love for opus 78 is one of the biggest (is that even correct english?). Especially that first movement, it always just paints the picture for me of Beethoven in love.

And prodigalpianist please make us a recording when your ready for it of the polonaise. I'm very curious myself!