(MUSIC) Except….not quite. Because while the recapitulation does go according to plan all the way through, it's not the conclusion of the movement at all. It is followed by a coda – an enormous coda, a coda the likes of which has not occurred in piano music up to this point. This coda is without precedent in its size and scope, but I don’t think one can rightly call it a surprise – even if it breaks new ground, the movement itself simply demands it. It’s not so much a question of its length: the piece is so dramatic, so bold, and so complex, it cannot simply end when the recapitulation runs its course – that would be far too perfunctory, given the expectations the music has created. This coda begins in the same way as the development: it comes out of that dog-chasing-its-own-tail passage, which takes us out of C major yet again – far out, this time -- and spurs the piece forward. (MUSIC) So far, so normal. But things get pretty wild almost immediately. For starters, the fourth bar of the first theme is for the first time shouted, rather than whispered. (MUSIC) And then the emphasis of that same figure is shifted from its first beat to the second, throwing it further into turmoil. (MUSIC) Beethoven has worked himself into quite a lather, but things are just getting started: this builds towards the greatest climax in Beethoven’s piano music up to this point. (MUSIC) Forgive me for stating the obvious, but that is music of overwhelming excitement, and it leads to a cadence so massive, it fully resolves not just the music that directly preceded it, but the harmonic psychodrama of the whole movement: the mediant, the persistent minor key shadows, all of it. And when this cadence happens, what does it lead to? (MUSIC) The second theme, FINALLY in C major, from its outset. This is utter catharsis. The theme, in this key, and this context, has a warmth and a centeredness which is newly acquired. Beginning in that deeper register (MUSIC), and then covering virtually the whole keyboard (MUSIC) it is suddenly so generous. It then grows even more generous, with Beethoven stretching it out rhythmically (MUSIC), and then hinting at the minor one final time (MUSIC). And to end, one final appearance of the opening theme, with most every dark cloud and hint of minor removed. (MUSIC) This conclusion is triumphant and thrilling, but don't be fooled – it was hard won! It has taken 11 minutes of struggle, of persistent shadows, and of harmonic ambiguity to get us to this point. That is why it is so thrilling when it finally arrives: the muscularity was born out of mystery.