Piano
Sonata No. 14 in C# minor, Op. 27, No. 2: Sonata quasi una fantasia (“Moonlight
Sonata”) – Beethoven (1801)
This piece was written at the end of the “early” period of
Beethoven’s life, when he was becoming noticeably deaf. It was actually
published around the same time he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament in 1802,
which detailed his despair and struggle against his deafness. At this time he
began withdrawing from society and his musical style was beginning to change to
reflect his inner struggle. The sonata is subtitled by Beethoven, “Sonata in
the manner of a fantasia,” and was later titled “Moonlight Sonata” by the Romantic
poet, Ludwig Rellstab, in 1832.
a.
The piece was dedicated to one of his
aristocratic students, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, whom he was rumored to be
in love with. It was first premiered by himself around 1801-1802. It was said
that he played the third movement so aggressively that some of the piano
strings broke during the performance. The piece became extremely popular after its
publishing, though Beethoven felt he’d “written better things” (2).
b.
During
this time, most sonatas were beginning to be written specifically for the pianoforte,
which had almost completely replaced the harpsichord. Sonatas by definition
contain 3-4 movements, usually fast-slow-fast. Beethoven, however, was perhaps
the greatest developer of the sonata and altered this classic form
dramatically. Every piece he wrote changed the piano sonata in a different way;
using varying dramatic texture, and dynamic contrasts and “instabilities” (3).
The movements of this piece move in an irregular developmental progression,
rather than following the fast-slow-fast outline of the classic sonata. The
first movement is slow and meditative, the second more lively, and the third a “tempestuous”
Presto Agitato movement (1). He also
revisits the same arpeggio theme in all three movements – a technique not often
employed by other Classical composers.
c.
The style and form of this piece are rather
loose and improvisational (like a “free-flowing” fantasia), suggested by the
subtitle (“Sonata in the manner of a fantasia”) (1). The first movement follows
sonata form harmonically, (C# minor (i), to G# Major (V), back to C# minor) but
does not follow the exposition-development-recapitulation system of sonata form.
This also reiterates the improvisational fantasia theme. The second Allegretto movement is a more
traditional scherzo followed by a trio, written in bright, major keys. The
final movement satisfies the traditional sonata form, back in C# minor. This intense
and passionate movement is considered to be the “most important,” which
Beethoven often saved for last to complete his dramatic development (4).
d.
Beethoven is often referred to as the “bridge”
between the Classical and Romantic periods. This piece is Classical in
technical terms, where it follows clear and slow harmonic progressions,
cadences frequently, and has a clear melody line. However, there is much more
underlying emotional development and a deeper meaning to this piece than that
of the Classical style. In this way it is very Romantic, as a great deal of emphasis
is placed on the “individual expression” of the composer (in Beethoven’s case, “suffering”)
through the music (5). Rather than following
the classic form, he alters it to highlight the emotional progression of the piece.
Sources:
(5)
The Oxford History of Western Music
Why do you think Rellstab dubbed this Moonlight Sonata? Did it make him think of moonlight shinning through at night? If thats the case, who did it better? Beethoven or Smetana? (not that they had the same musical intentions)
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is the "Pop-Song" of classical music. I hear it all over the place (Not excluding non-majors playing pianos in Nix), and no one seems to know what its actually called.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite all time pieces and I was wondering when someone would write about it. Thank you for bringing attention to it and doing a good job telling me about it.
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