For many other critics, the opening movement was not as Rellstab described it. It carried a sad atmosphere with a heartbroken mood and no romance in it. The fact that Beethoven dedicated the Moonlight sonata to his lover, proves the romantic nature of the song. Beethoven's Sonata was different from other Sonata created in this era.
Sonatas were lively. The first, second, and third movements followed a pattern where the first movement carried the theme and appeared to be the most lively; it toned down in the second movement and then finished off vivaciously in the third movement. The Ludwig Van Beethoven 'Moonlight' sonata has followed a different pattern but still remains a sonata.
The traditional layout for a sonata movement followed a fast-slow-fast-fast arrangement, such that the first movement would be fast, the second movement would be slow, and a little faster in the third movement. This was not the case for the Moonlight Sonata. Its' first movement was slow, dreamy, and hypnotic, followed by a lively second movement and a fiery third movement.
Beethoven created the first movement in C-sharp minor, with a triplet figuration opening the right and an octave opening the left. The triplet pattern was unique to Beethoven, and he maintained it throughout the first movement, giving it a rolling back and forth feeling.
The melody adopted a slow tempo which exhibits brilliant harmonies that span from note to note, chord to chord. This first movement impressed his audience and became overly popular; the popularity of the movement exasperated even Beethoven. In its technical composition, the exposition carries the first subject mm. The development section, which is expected to carry the theme in a sonata, remains really short mm. Instead, he brings out the theme again in the recapitulation section, with the first theme mm.
He then ends the movement with the coda mm. He wrote this movement in the calm D-flat major key with a handful of forte-pianos and sforzandos to give the movement a lively feel. The technical creation of the Allegretto is a little unusual as Beethoven chooses to write both the minuetto and the trio part in the same key D-flat major.
In other regular sonatas, composers often switch keys for the minuetto and the trio parts to light it up, but Beethoven chose to keep it simple. It's interesting how he chooses to write the second movement in D-flat major while he wrote the first and third movements in C-sharp minor. This third movement carries the greater weight of all three movements.
Beethoven dedicated this work to his 16 years old student, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. Beethoven was in love with her, but their romance eventually did not come to fruition. Liszt said, it is a little flower between two abysses. Referring to the first and last movement as two towering pieces of music. According to Charles Rosen , the first movement is too delicate for modern instruments and the last is too massive for the contemporary. The first movement has an unspeakable mystery and tragedy, which finally results in rage and fury in the last movement.
Beethoven was not deaf, when he composed this sonata in Although, he had had symptoms in his ears since , meaning his hearing at this stage was not perfect either. To read this article, click here! What is the story behind the name, Moonlight sonata? Finally, there are some performers who have used the Moonlight Sonata as a vehicle to bridge the classical and pop worlds. The melding of the two is particularly evident in "Moonlight," which involves an electric cello and samples of other classical pieces interspersed throughout.
These tips are particularly geared towards playing the first movement I. Adagio sostenuto , but are equally applicable to the rest of the piece. Do not rush through the notes—if there's any piece that isn't a race to get to the finish, it's the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata.
Here's a beautiful recording of Annie Fischer's slower, more sustained sostenuto! Just because the tempo is slow doesn't mean that you can meander all over the place with the notes and disregard the written rhythm. Part of the hypnotic lulling effect of the first movement is the steady triplets in the bass for the most part against a dotted eighth note-sixteenth note or dotted quaver-semiquaver rhythm in the right hand—the farther you stray away from this relationship, the less impact the piece will have on the listener.
Getting the correct notes and rhythms are an important part of learning any piece, but you shouldn't consider yourself "finished learning" the piece just because you've gotten the fundamentals down. Notes are important, but things like dynamics how loud or soft you play and articulation are the icing on the Moonlight Sonata cake.
Because it's written for the piano, Moonlight Sonata has a restricted range of expressiveness simply because of the limitations of the instrument , but that doesn't meant that the expressiveness shouldn't be there. S ubtle differences in how hard you press the keys and how much you let the sound decay can have a huge impact on the impact the piece has on the audience or the listener, if you're not performing formally.
It's possible to learn the Moonlight Sonata by ear, from the sheet music, or using a combination of the two. If you already know how to read music, then that's probably the best option—learning the Moonlight Sonata from the score will get you closest to Beethoven's intent since playing it by ear necessitates having a middle man. As with most pieces, the best way to learn the Moonlight Sonata is to learn it section by section and eventually put it together , rather than trying to play it through every time you practice.
If you're learning the Moonlight Sonata by ear, learning it a little bit at a time is also a good idea. Yes, it will involve listening to the same 10 seconds of the piece over and over again, but once you get that pattern of arpeggiating triplets in the left hand against non-triplets in the right hand down, the rest of the movement will be easier. If you know how to play the guitar or some other chordal instrument, you might find knowing the Moonlight Sonata tabs help you learn the specific note patterns better as well.
It's possible to augment your learning of the Moonlight Sonata from the score with recordings of the piece and get the best of both learning by ear and learning by reading music worlds , but that method has its own issues. Some performers don't like to listen to versions of a piece while they're working on it because they're afraid it'll affect their interpretation, but the ubiquity of the Moonlight Sonata in culture makes it difficult to avoid.
Personally, I try to avoid listening to other interpretations of pieces when I'm learning it, but it can be helpful if you're struggling with what the notes sound like to listen to a MIDI version, like this one:. What each performer finds tricky will change to some extent from person to person. For instance, the large distances between notes in the left-hand chords of the first movement will be harder for people with smaller hands, while the arpeggios may be more difficult for people with stiffness or arthritis in their fingers.
As far as the Moonlight Sonata notes themselves go, I think the most difficult part of the first movement occurs during the development section mm. What shenanigans are these, Beethoven?
Pedaling, or controlling the sustain and decay of the notes, is also tricky for this piece. Beethoven notes at the beginning of the Moonlight Sonata,.
This effect no doubt would've sounded eerie and beautiful on the pianofortes of , but the pianos today have longer sustains, which means that holding down the sustain pedal for the entirety of the piece will likely just result in a muddy sound. For a more complete discussion of the different pedaling options commonly used in the Moonlight Sonata , check out the full guide here.
Ultimately, it's up to the performer to interpret as she will what feels right and sounds right to her , just as it's up to the listeners to decide which Moonlight Sonata performance or recording sounds and feels the best for them.
We mention melodies and harmonies above, but what exactly is a melody or a harmony? Learn about the differences between melodies and harmonies here.
Looking for more Beethoven piano music insights? Thinking about applying to conservatory? Check out our article on the best music schools in the US here.
0コメント