Piano Sonata No.

14 (Beethoven)
1
Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)
Title page of the first edition of the score, published in 1802 in Vienna by Gio. Cappi e
Comp.
[1]
The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp
minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27,
No. 2, popularly known as the
Moonlight Sonata, is a piano sonata
by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed
in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his
pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, it
is one of Beethoven's most popular
compositions for the piano.
Names
The first edition of the score is headed
Sonata quasi una fantasia, a title this
work shares with its companion piece,
Op. 27, No. 1.
[2]
Grove Music Online
translates the Italian title as "sonata in
the manner of a fantasy".
[3]
The name "Moonlight Sonata" has its origins in remarks by the German music critic and poet Ludwig Rellstab. In
1832, five years after Beethoven's death, Rellstab likened the effect of the first movement to that of moonlight
shining upon Lake Lucerne.
[4]
Within ten years, the name "Moonlight Sonata" ("Mondscheinsonate" in German) was
being used in German
[5]
and English
[6]
publications. Later in the nineteenth century, it could be said that the sonata
was "universally known" by that name.
[7]
Many critics have objected to the subjective, Romantic nature of the title "Moonlight", which has at times been
called "a misleading approach to a movement with almost the character of a funeral march"
[8]
and "absurd".
[9]
Other
critics have approved of the sobriquet, finding it evocative
[10]
or in line with their own associations with the
work.
[11]
Gramophone founder Compton Mackenzie found the title "harmless", remarking that "it is silly for austere
critics to work themselves up into a state of almost hysterical rage with poor Rellstab", adding that "What these
austere critics fail to grasp is that unless the general public had responded to the suggestion of moonlight in this
music Rellstab's remark would long ago have been forgotten."
[12]
Form
Although no direct testimony exists as to the specific reasons why Beethoven decided to title both the Op. 27 works
as Sonata quasi una fantasia, it may be significant that the layout of the present work does not follow the traditional
movement arrangement in the Classical period of fast-slow-[fast]-fast. Instead, the sonata possesses an end-weighted
trajectory, with the rapid music held off until the third movement. In his analysis, German critic Paul Bekker states
that "The opening sonata-allegro movement gave the work a definite character from the beginning... which
succeeding movements could supplement but not change. Beethoven rebelled against this determinative quality in
the first movement. He wanted a prelude, an introduction, not a proposition.
[13]
The sonata consists of three movements:
1. Adagio sostenuto
2. 2. Allegretto
3. Presto agitato
Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)
2
Adagio sostenuto
The first movement, in C minor, is written in an approximate truncated sonata form. The movement opens with an
octave in the left hand and a triplet figuration in the right. A melody that Hector Berlioz called a "lamentation",
mostly by the right hand, is played against an accompanying ostinato triplet rhythm, simultaneously played by the
right hand. The movement is played pianissimo or "very quietly", and the loudest it gets is mezzo forte or
"moderately loud".
The adagio sostenuto has made a powerful impression on many listeners; for instance, Berlioz said of it that it "is one
of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify".
[14]
Beethoven's student Carl Czerny called it "a
nocturnal scene, in which a mournful ghostly voice sounds from the distance".
[15]
The movement was very popular
in Beethoven's day, to the point of exasperating the composer himself, who remarked to Czerny, "Surely I've written
better things."
[16][17]
Allegretto
The second movement is basically a relatively conventional scherzo and trio, a moment of relative calm written in
D-flat major, the more easily-notated enharmonic equivalent of C major, the parallel major of C minor. Franz Liszt
is said to have described the second movement as "a flower between two chasms".
[18]
The slight majority of the
movement is in piano, but a handful of sforzandos and forte-pianos helps to maintain the movement's cheerful
disposition.
Presto agitato
Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)
3
The stormy final movement (C minor), in sonata form, is the weightiest of the three, reflecting an experiment of
Beethoven's (also carried out in the companion sonata, Opus 27, No. 1 and later on in Opus 101) placement of the
most important movement of the sonata last. The writing has many fast arpeggios and strongly accented notes, and
an effective performance demands lively and skillful playing.
It is thought that the C-sharp minor sonata, particularly the third movement, was the inspiration for Frdric Chopin's
Fantaisie-Impromptu,
[19]
which manifests the key relationships of the sonata's three movements.
Of the final movement, Charles Rosen has written "it is the most unbridled in its representation of emotion. Even
today, two hundred years later, its ferocity is astonishing."
[14]
Beethoven's heavy use of sforzando notes, together with just a few strategically located fortissimo passages, creates
the sense of a very powerful sound in spite of the predominance of piano markings throughout. Within this turbulent
sonata-allegro, there are two main themes, with a variety of variation techniques utilized.
Beethoven's pedal mark
At the opening of the work, Beethoven included a written direction that the sustain pedal should be depressed for the
entire duration of the first movement. The Italian reads: "Si deve suonare tutto questo pezzo delicatissimamente e
senza sordino" ("One must play this whole piece [meaning "movement"] very delicately and without dampers."). The
modern piano has a much longer sustain time than the instruments of Beethoven's day. Therefore, his instruction
cannot be followed by pianists playing modern instruments without creating an unpleasantly dissonant sound.
One option for dealing with this problem is to perform the work on a restored or replicated piano of the kind
Beethoven knew. Proponents of historically informed performance using such pianos have found it feasible to
perform the work respecting Beethoven's original direction.
For performance on the modern piano, most performers today try to achieve an effect similar to what Beethoven
asked for by using pedal changes only where necessary to avoid excessive dissonance. For instance, Casa Ricordi
has a publication of the score that includes pedal marks throughout the first movement.
[20]
Half pedalinga technique involving a partial depression of the damper pedalis also often used to simulate the
shorter sustain of the early nineteenth century pedal. Charles Rosen suggests both half-pedaling and releasing the
pedal a fraction of a second late.
[14]
Banowetz offers a further suggestion: to pedal cleanly while allowing sympathetic vibration of the low bass strings
to provide the desired "blur". This is accomplished before beginning the movement by silently depressing the piano's
lowest bass notes and then holding these dampers up with the sostenuto pedal for the duration of the movement.
[21]
Notes
[1] The title page is in Italian, and reads SONATA quasi una FANTASIA per il Clavicembalo o Piano=forte composta e dedicata alla Damigella
Contessa Giulietta Guicciardi da Luigi van Beethoven Opera 27 No. 2. In Vienna presso Gio. Cappi Sulla Piazza di St. Michele No. 5. (In
English, "Sonata, almost a fantasia for harpsichord or pianoforte. Composed, and dedicated to Mademoiselle Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, by
Ludwig van Beethoven. Opus 27 No. 2. Published in Vienna by Giovanni Cappi, Michaelerplatz No. 5.") The suggestion that the work could
be performed on the harpsichord reflected a common marketing practice of music publishers in the early 19th century (Siepmann 1998, 60).
[2] "Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonate fr Klavier (cis-Moll) op. 27, 2 (Sonata quasi una fantasia), Cappi, 879" (http:/ / www.
beethoven-haus-bonn.de/ sixcms/ detail. php?id=& template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en& _eid=& _ug=& _werkid=27&
_dokid=T00011830& _opus=op.27& _mid=& suchparameter=& _sucheinstieg=& _seite=1). Beethovenhaus. . Retrieved January 12, 2012.
[3] "Quasi" (http:/ / www. oxfordmusiconline. com/ subscriber/ article/ grove/ music/ 22660). Grove Music Online (Oxford Music Online). .
Retrieved January 7, 2012.
[4] Beethoven, Ludwig van (2004). Beethoven: The Man and the Artist, as Revealed in His Own Words. 1st World Publishing. p.47.
ISBN978-1-59540-149-6.
[5] See. e.g., Allgemeiner musikalischer Anzeiger (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=dSFDAAAAcAAJ& pg=PA41&
dq=mondscheinsonate& hl=en& sa=X& ei=7owMT9e7EJOA2AWAq9WdBw& ved=0CEYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage& q=mondscheinsonate&
f=false). Vol. 9, No. 11, Tobias Haslinger, Vienna, 1837, p. 41.
Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)
4
[6] See, e.g., Ignace Moscheles, ed. The Life of Beethoven. (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=CfAoAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA109&
dq="moonlight+ sonata"& hl=en& sa=X& ei=CYoMT_b2CaKg2gXVqIT0Dw& ved=0CEoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage& q="moonlight sonata"&
f=false) Henry Colburn pub., vol. II, 1841, p. 109.
[7] Aunt Judy's Christmas Volume (http:/ / books.google.com/ books?id=XigOAAAAQAAJ& pg=PA60& dq="moonlight+ sonata"+
universally& hl=en& sa=X& ei=7JIMT42TG8zy2gXP_JyXBw& ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q="moonlight sonata" universally&
f=false). H.K.F. Gatty, ed., George Bell & Sons, London, 1879, p. 60.
[8] Kennedy, Michael. "Moonlight Sonata" (http:/ / www.amazon. com/ Oxford-Dictionary-Music-Michael-Kennedy/ dp/
0198691629#reader_0198691629), from Oxford Dictionary of Music 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006 rev., p. 589.
[9] "Moonlight Sonata" (http:/ / books. google.com/ books?id=5R4PAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA256& dq="moonlight+ sonata"+ absurd& hl=en&
sa=X& ei=kI4MT4emKono2QWj2Z3NBw& ved=0CEAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage& q="moonlight sonata" absurd& f=false), from Grove's
Dictionary of Music and Musicians. J.A. Fuller Maitland, ed., Macmillan and Co., London, 1907, p. 256.
[10] Dubal, David. The Art of the Piano (http:/ / books.google. com/ books?id=8698CZGx1ZQC& pg=PA411& dq="moonlight+ sonata"+
evocative& hl=en& sa=X& ei=VJcMT7fvGMnE2gX7m8GCCA& sqi=2& ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q="moonlight sonata"
evocative& f=false). Amadeus Press, 2004, p. 411.
[11] See, e.g., Wilkinson, Charles W. Well-known Piano Solos: How to Play Them (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=hQk6AAAAIAAJ&
pg=PA31& dq="moonlight+ sonata"+ title& hl=en& sa=X& ei=L5YMT-SHKqW22gXngOHUBg& ved=0CDwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&
q="moonlight sonata" title& f=false). Theo. Presser Co., Philadelphia, 1915, p.31.
[12] Mackenzie, Compton. "The Beethoven Piano Sonatas" (http:/ / www. gramophone. net/ Issue/ Page/ August 1940/ 1/ 736783/
EDITORIAL#header-logo), from The Gramophone, Aug. 1940, p. 5.
[13] Maynard Solomon, Beethoven (New York: Schirmer Books, 1998), p. 139
[14] Charles Rosen (2002). Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion. Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-09070-3.
[15] Jones, Timothy. Beethoven, the Moonlight and other sonatas, op. 27 and op. 31 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=FP8l1Di5F5gC&
pg=PA43& dq=beethoven+ moonlight+ mournful& hl=en& sa=X& ei=7HYDT6eGL9PtggfL5s3-AQ& ved=0CDoQuwUwAA#v=onepage&
q=mournful& f=false). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 43.
[16] Life of Beethoven, Alexander Wheelock Thayer, ed. Elliot Forbes, Princeton 1967
[17] Fishko, Sara. "Why do we love the 'Moonlight' Sonata?" (http:/ / www. npr. org/ templates/ story/ story. php?storyId=18577817). NPR. .
Retrieved 10 May 2011.
[18] Brendel, Alfred (2001). Alfred Brendel on music (http:/ / www. amazon. co. uk/ Alfred-Brendel-Music/ dp/ 1906217017/
ref=sr_1_1?s=books& ie=UTF8& qid=1325880457& sr=1-1#reader_1906217017). A Capella Books. p. 71. ISBN 1-55652-408-0.
[19] [19] Felix Salzer, Aspects of Schenkerian Analysis, David Beach, ed. Yale University Press, 1983
[20] William and Gayle Cook Music Library, Indiana University School of Music Beethoven, Sonate per pianoforte, Vol. 1 (N. 1-16), Ricordi
(http:/ / www. dlib.indiana. edu/ variations/ scores/ aek3910/ index1. html)
[21] Banowetz, J. (1985). The Pianists Guide to Pedaling, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p. 168.
References
Siepmann, Jeremy (1998) The Piano: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the World's Most Popular Musical
Instrument.
External links
Detailed analysis and recordings review of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (http:/ / classicalmusicblog. com/ 2007/
09/ beethoven-sonata. html)
1st movement for piano and orchestra (https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=Hu7hscHkfPw) on YouTube,
arranged by Georgii Cherkin
Beethovens Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (http:/ / www. moonlightpianosonata. com/
listen-to-moonlight-sonata/ ), performed by Artur Schnabel
Lecture and performance of the work (https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=fW_Dv_GNQAo) on YouTube by
Andrs Schiff
Recording of "Moonlight Sonata" No. 14 in C-sharp minor, published by 1stpiano.com (http:/ / 1stpiano. com/
beethoven-moonlight-sonata/ )
Third movement (https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=oqSulR9Fymg) on YouTube by Wilhelm Kempff
Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)
5
Scores
Piano Sonata No. 14: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
The Mutopia project has information about the composition Sonata No. 14 (http:/ / www. mutopiaproject. org/
cgibin/ piece-info. cgi?id=276)
Free sheet music (http:/ / cantorion. org/ pieces/ 303/ Piano_Sonata_No. _14_"Moonlight") of Moonlight Sonata
from Cantorion.org
Ricordi edition (http:/ / www. dlib. indiana. edu/ variations/ scores/ aek3910/ index1. html), The William and
Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University School of Music
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=496141411 Contributors: 04smav, AB, AKeen, Aaron Branson, Aitias, Alansohn, Amr Elshawarby,
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