Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' is perhaps the most famous piece ever written. This is remarkable, considering that the title we know it by today was not given to it by Beethoven himself.

Whoever invented it, invented it for eternity.

But the title doesn't come from Beethoven. In my opinion, this is also the reason why this sonata is so often played in such an artificial way – dreamily, moonlight... If the beginning of the sonata is dreamy and reminds us of someone in the moonlight, why not... But, actually, if you think about it, it's interesting to compare this part with what Mozart wrote for his opera 'Don Giovanni' - the moment when Giovanni stabs the commander, he falls to the ground, wounded, and then this music follows... (2:30) which is exactly the same as that of the 'Moonlight Sonata'. I think that... in fact, someone once told me that in Beethoven's notes there were some lines written from 'Don Giovanni' simply transposed to a semitone, which means, a semitone higher, and that's where he marks the beginning of the 'Moonlight Sonata'.

Maybe it's talking about death...who knows?! In fact, this rhythm is similar to the rhythm of funeral marches. That's why I prefer a steady, march-like rhythm, along with this gentle accompaniment of notes.

Whatever it is, right or wrong, it has become one of the most popular pieces and in my youth you heard it at every concert. Now, it seems like people are kind of tired of it and it's not played as often anymore.

The title 'of the moon', or what I think is more like a funeral music, is only about the 4th time. Whereas, the second time is very simple, more or less like a 'minuet' (the rhythm of a type of slow dance used in state balls, especially famous in the 18th century) or 'scherzo' (refers to a time which replaces a 'minuet' as the third time in a four-time work, such as in a symphony, or a sonata), while the fourth time is very stormy.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZsBi50VbXw&index=3&list=PLErHuBsy75wzNtI5pjaDqwyM_C_RdipXn

 

Selected and translated by Enkeleda Suti