Originally, Beethoven composed two sonatas for violin and piano under the opus number 23: the somber Sonata in A minor and the four-movement Sonata in F major, which later acquired the popular nickname "Spring Sonata" due to its cheerful character. Beethoven himself, however, never referred to it as such. It is now opus number 24 and is number 5 in the ten-work cycle of sonatas for violin and piano. It is dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries.
