It owes its much-quoted nickname "Tempest" to a note by Beethoven's famulus Anton Schindler, whom the composer advised to "read Shakespeare's Tempest" as a key to the work. But Schindler had also asked for the Sonata op. 57 in the same breath, so that in the end it remained unclear which of the two sonatas was really meant. The preface of the new edition explains not only this question, but also numerous other backgrounds to the work. The musical text is based - in the absence of the autograph - on the first edition as well as on the reprints by Simrock and Cappi, which were corrected at Beethoven's instigation; in addition, Haslinger's complete edition is also consulted. Carl Czerny's comments on the performance complete the edition. With this information, the new single edition offers an excellent starting point for a well-founded study of the work.