Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata 1st mov. (Adagio)

Pawel Siwczak fortepiano

Enjoy this piece as it may have sounded when Beethoven first played it, be transported in time, and maybe even enchanted by its spell.

Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827), or Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 is a solo piano work written in 1801 and dedicated to the composer’s pupil: Countess Giulietta Guicciardi.

Its first movement, Adagio quasi una fantasia, is hugely popular and one of the most loved pieces of classical music. Described by Beethoven “like a fantasia” it resembles a free improvisation. The gentle, arpeggiated chords in the right hand create a mysterious soundscape on top of which floats a simple, touching melody contrasted and underpinned by rich bass notes of the left hand.

“Moonlight Sonata” was not called this way by the composer. In 1832 (five years after Beethoven’s death) Ludwig Rellstab, a poet and a music critic, compared the impression of the first movement to that of a moon reflecting in the waters of Lake Lucerne. This poetic description captured the imagination of the artists, listeners and publishers, especially on the verge of the era of Romanticism.