Piano Sonata no. 2 in F sharp minor, op. 2

Johannes Brahms composed the Piano Sonata No. 2 in F♯ minor, Op. 2, in 1852 in Hamburg, Germany, and it was published the year after. Despite being his second published work, it was actually composed before his Piano Sonata No. 1 but published later because Brahms recognized the importance of an inaugural publication and felt that the C major sonata was of higher quality. It was sent along with his first sonata to Breitkopf und Härtel with a letter of recommendation from Robert Schumann. Schumann had already praised Brahms enthusiastically, and the sonata shows signs of an effort to impress with its technical demands and highly dramatic nature. It is dedicated to Clara Schumann.