Beethoven's 9th violin sonata, commonly known as the Kreutzer Sonata, was published as his Op. 47. It is known for its demanding violin part, unusual length (a typical rendition taking around 40 minutes), and emotional scope — while the first movement is predominantly furious, the second is meditative and the third joyous and exuberant. Originally dedicated to violinist George Bridgetower -who performed it sight-reading with Beethoven at the 1803 premiere- it was later rededicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer, widely considered the finest violinist of the day. The reason for the change was that, apparently, Bridgetower had insulted a woman cherished by Beethoven. Kreutzer, however never performed the work, considering it unintelligible. It is said that, in fact, he did not really care for Beethoven's music.
