Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank among the most performed of the classical
music repertoire and span the transition from the
Classical period to the Romantic era in classical
music. His career has conventionally been divided into
early, middle, and late periods. His early period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have lasted until 1...(+)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank among the most performed of the classical
music repertoire and span the transition from the
Classical period to the Romantic era in classical
music. His career has conventionally been divided into
early, middle, and late periods. His early period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to
around 1812, his middle period showed an individual
development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized
as heroic. During this time, he began to grow
increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to
1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and
expression.
Beethoven was born in Bonn. His musical talent was
obvious at an early age. He was initially harshly and
intensively taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven.
Beethoven was later taught by the composer and
conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe, under whose tutelage
he published his first work, a set of keyboard
variations, in 1783. He found relief from a
dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von
Breuning, whose children he loved, befriended, and
taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna, which
subsequently became his base, and studied composition
with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a
virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronised by Karl
Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which
resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest
works to which he accorded an opus number) in 1795.
The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked Quasi
una fantasia, Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by
Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1801 and
dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Julie
"Giulietta" Guicciardi. The name Moonlight Sonata
(German: Mondscheinsonate) grew popular later, likely
after Beethoven's death.
The piece is one of Beethoven's most popular
compositions for the piano, and it was a popular
favourite even in his own day. Beethoven wrote the
Moonlight Sonata in his early thirties, after he had
finished with some commissioned work; there is no
evidence that he was commissioned to write this sonata.
The first edition of the score is headed Sonata quasi
una fantasia ("sonata in the manner of a fantasy"), the
same title as that of its companion piece, Op. 27, No.
1. The subtitle reminds listeners that the piece,
although technically a sonata, is suggestive of a
free-flowing, improvised fantasia."
Many sources say that the nickname Moonlight Sonata
arose after the German music critic and poet Ludwig
Rellstab likened the effect of the first movement to
that of moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne. This comes
from the musicologist Wilhelm von Lenz, who wrote in
1852: "Rellstab compares this work to a boat, visiting,
by moonlight, the remote parts of Lake Lucerne in
Switzerland. The soubriquet Mondscheinsonate, which
twenty years ago made connoisseurs cry out in Germany,
has no other origin." Taken literally, "twenty years"
would mean the nickname had to have started after
Beethoven's death. In fact Rellstab made his comment
about the sonata's first movement in a story called
Theodor that he published in 1824: "The lake reposes in
twilit moon-shimmer [Mondenschimmer], muffled waves
strike the dark shore; gloomy wooded mountains rise and
close off the holy place from the world; ghostly swans
glide with whispering rustles on the tide, and an
Aeolian harp sends down mysterious tones of lovelorn
yearning from the ruins." Rellstab made no mention of
Lake Lucerne, which seems to have been Lenz's own
addition. Rellstab met Beethoven in 1825, making it
theoretically possible for Beethoven to have known of
the moonlight comparison, though the nickname may not
have arisen until later.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._14_(Bee
thoven)).
Although originally written for Solo Piano, I created
this Arrangement of the Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight)
in C# Minor (Op. 27 No. 2) for Flute & Piano.
SHEET MUSIC