Noctave
The piece
Beethoven never published it: the piece only appeared in 1867, forty years after his death, thanks to the scholar Ludwig Nohl, who had copied it from a manuscript that is now lost. It is a small rondo, complete here: the A minor theme is heard three times, with two episodes between its returns. The first, in F major, is more songful and ends with a quick run; the second, darker one moves over a repeated A in the bass, then climbs in broken arpeggios before sliding down a chromatic scale into the theme.
The opening figure, E and D-sharp rocking back and forth, stays pianissimo and supple, never hammered. Then the arpeggios pass from one hand to the other: the left hand starts the chord, the right hand carries it on. Hear them as one line, with no gap and no bump at the handover. Some fifty quick shifts, mostly on the left, call for anticipation: prepare each one during the note before it. In the dark episode, keep the repeated A in the bass steady and light, without letting your wrist tighten.