Who wrote sonatas. The history of the creation of the "moonlight sonata"

Help me please. I can not find the history of the creation of the 14th moonlight sonata. (Beethoven) and got the best answer

Answer from Evgeny Timchenko[guru]
Beethoven's famous Moonlight Sonata appeared in 1801. In those years, the composer experienced not the best time in his life. On the one hand, he was successful and popular, his works became more and more popular, he was invited to famous aristocratic houses. The thirty-year-old composer gave the impression of a cheerful, happy person, independent and despising fashion, proud and contented. But Ludwig's soul was tormented by deep feelings - he began to lose his hearing. This was a terrible disaster for the composer, because before his illness, Beethoven's hearing was distinguished by amazing subtlety and accuracy, he was able to notice the slightest wrong shade or note, almost visually imagined all the subtleties of rich orchestral colors.
The causes of the illness remain unknown. Perhaps it was an excessive strain of hearing, or a cold and inflammation of the ear nerve. Be that as it may, unbearable tinnitus tormented Beethoven day and night, and the whole community of medical professionals could not help him. Already by 1800, the composer had to stand very close to the stage in order to hear the high sounds of the orchestra playing, he could hardly distinguish the words of the people who spoke to him. He hid his deafness from friends and relatives and tried to be less social. At this time, the young Juliet Guicciardi appeared in his life. She was sixteen, she loved music, played the piano beautifully and became a student of the great composer. And Beethoven fell in love, immediately and irrevocably. He always saw only the best in people, and Juliet seemed to him perfection, an innocent angel who came down to him to quench his anxieties and sorrows. He was captivated by the cheerfulness, good nature and sociability of the young student. Beethoven and Juliet began a relationship, and he got a taste for life. He began to go out more often, he again learned to enjoy simple things - music, the sun, the smile of his beloved. Beethoven dreamed that someday he would call Juliet his wife. Filled with happiness, he began work on a sonata, which he called "Sonata in the Spirit of Fantasy".
But his dreams did not come true. The windy and frivolous coquette started an affair with the aristocratic Count Robert Gallenberg. She became uninterested in a deaf, unsecured composer from a simple family. Very soon Juliet became the Countess of Gallenberg. The sonata, which Beethoven began to write in a state of real happiness, delight and trembling hope, was completed in anger and fury. Its first part is slow and gentle, and the finale sounds like a hurricane sweeping away everything in its path. After Beethoven's death, a letter was found in his desk drawer, which Ludwig addressed to the carefree Juliet. In it, he wrote about how much she meant to him, and what longing came over him after Juliet's betrayal. The composer's world collapsed, and life lost its meaning. One of Beethoven's best friends, the poet Ludwig Relshtab, called the "Moonlight" sonata after his death. At the sounds of the sonata, he imagined the quiet expanse of the lake and the lonely boat floating on it under the unsteady light of the moon.

Answer from Louise the Great[newbie]
Wow!

Answer from frag generalisemus[newbie]
Thanks a lot!

Answer from Yergey Pochekutov[newbie]

Answer from Borik dzusov[newbie]
The most famous composition appeared to the world in 1801. On the one hand, for the composer, these times are the time for a creative dawn: his musical creations are gaining more and more popularity, Beethoven's talent is appreciated by the public, he is a desired guest of famous aristocrats. But in appearance, a cheerful, happy person was tormented by deep feelings. The composer begins to lose his hearing. For a person who previously had amazingly thin and accurate hearing, this was a huge shock. No medical means could save the musical genius from unbearable tinnitus. Ludwig van Beethoven tries not to upset his loved ones, hides his problem from them, and avoids social events.
But at this difficult time, the composer's life will be filled with bright colors by the young student Juliet Guicciardi. Being in love with music, the girl played the piano beautifully. Beethoven could not resist the charm of the young beauty, her good nature - his heart was filled with love. And along with this wonderful feeling, the taste of life returned. The composer again goes out into the world and again feels the beauty and joy of the world around him. Inspired by love, Beethoven begins work on an amazing sonata called “Sonata in the Spirit of Fantasy”.
But the composer's dreams of a married, family life failed. Young frivolous Juliet starts a love relationship with Count Robert Gallenberg. The sonata, inspired by happiness, was completed by Beethoven in a state of deep melancholy, sadness and anger. The life of a genius after the betrayal of his beloved lost all taste, his heart was completely broken.
But despite this, feelings of love, sorrow, longing from parting and despair from unbearable physical suffering associated with the disease, gave rise to an unforgettable work of art.

The history of the creation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is closely connected with his biography, as well as with hearing loss. While writing his famous work, he experienced serious health problems, although he was at the top of his popularity. He was a welcome guest in aristocratic salons, worked hard and was considered a fashionable musician. On his account there were already many works, including sonatas. However, it is the essay in question that is considered one of the most successful in his work.

Acquaintance with Juliet Guicciardi

The history of the creation of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is directly related to this woman, since it was to her that he dedicated his new creation. She was a countess and at the time of her acquaintance with the famous composer she was at a very young age.

Together with her cousins, the girl began to take lessons from him and conquered her teacher with cheerfulness, good nature and sociability. Beethoven fell in love with her and dreamed of marrying the young beauty. This new feeling caused him a creative upsurge, and he enthusiastically began to work on a work that has now acquired cult status.

Gap

The history of the creation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, in fact, repeats all the vicissitudes of this personal drama of the composer. Juliet loved her teacher, and at first it seemed that marriage was on the way. However, the young coquette subsequently preferred a prominent count to a poor musician, whom she eventually married. This was a heavy blow for the composer, which was reflected in the second part of the work in question. It feels pain, anger and despair, which contrast sharply with the serene sound of the first movement. The author's depression was exacerbated by hearing loss.

Disease

The history of the creation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is as dramatic as the fate of its author. He was suffering from serious problems due to inflammation of the auditory nerve, which led to an almost complete loss of hearing. He was forced to stand close to the stage in order to hear the sounds. This could not but affect his work.

Beethoven was famous for being able to accurately select the right notes, choosing the right musical shades and keys from the rich palette of the orchestra. Now it was becoming more and more difficult for him to work every day. The gloomy mood of the composer was also reflected in the work in question, in the second part of which the motive of a rebellious impulse sounds, which seems to find no way out. Undoubtedly, this theme is connected with the torments that the composer experienced when writing a melody.

Name

Of great importance for understanding the composer's work is the history of the creation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Briefly, the following can be said about this event: it testifies to the composer's impressionability, as well as how close he took this personal tragedy to his heart. Therefore, the second part of the work is written in an angry tone, which is why many believe that the title does not match the content.

However, to the composer's friend, poet and music critic Ludwig Relshtab, she recalled the image of a night lake with moonlight. The second version of the origin of the name is connected with the fact that at the time under consideration the fashion for everything that was somehow connected with the moon dominated, so contemporaries willingly accepted this beautiful epithet.

Further fate

The history of the creation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata should be briefly considered in the context of the composer's biography, since unrequited love influenced his entire subsequent life. After parting with Juliet, he left Vienna and moved to the city, where he wrote his famous will. In it, he poured out those bitter feelings that were reflected in his work. The composer wrote that, despite the apparent gloom and gloom, he was predisposed to kindness and tenderness. He also complained about his deafness.

The history of the creation of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" 14 in many ways helps to understand further events in his fate. Out of desperation, he almost decided to commit suicide, but in the end he gathered his strength and, being already almost completely deaf, wrote his most famous works. A few years later, the lovers met again. It is indicative that Juliet was the first to come to the composer.

She recalled a happy youth, complained about poverty and asked for money. Beethoven lent her a significant amount, but asked her not to see him again. In 1826, the maestro fell seriously ill and suffered for several months, but not so much from physical pain as from the consciousness that he could not work. The following year he died, and after his death a tender letter dedicated to Juliet was found, proving that the great musician retained a feeling of love for the woman who inspired his most famous composition. So, one of the most prominent representatives was Ludwig van Beethoven. The "Moonlight Sonata", the history of which was briefly revealed in this essay, is still performed on the best stages around the world.

Today we will get acquainted with Piano Sonata No. 14, better known as "Moonlight" or "Moonlight Sonata".

• Page 1:
• Introduction. The phenomenon of the popularity of this work
• Why the sonata was called "Moonlight" (the myth of Beethoven and the "blind girl", the real story of the name)
• General characteristics of the "Moonlight Sonata" (a brief description of the work with the opportunity to listen to the performance on video)
• A brief description of each part of the sonata - we comment on the features of all three parts of the work.

Introduction

I welcome everyone who is fond of Beethoven's work! My name is Yuri Vanyan, and I am the editor of the site you are currently on. For more than a year now, I have been publishing detailed, and sometimes small, introductory articles about the most diverse works of the great composer.

However, to my shame, the frequency of publishing new articles on our site has dropped significantly due to my personal employment lately, which I promise to fix in the near future (probably, other authors will have to be included). But I am even more ashamed that so far not a single article has been published on this resource about the "calling card" of Beethoven's work - the famous "Moonlight Sonata". In today's issue, I will finally try to fill this significant gap.

The phenomenon of the popularity of this work

I did not just name the work "visiting card" composer, because for most people, especially for those who are far from classical music, it is with the “Moonlight Sonata” that the name of one of the most influential composers of all time is primarily associated.

The popularity of this piano sonata has reached incredible heights! Even right now, typing this text, I just asked myself for a second: “And what works of Beethoven could outshine Lunar in terms of popularity?” And you know what's the funniest thing? I can not now, in real time, remember at least one such work!

See for yourself - in April 2018, in the search line of the Yandex network alone, the phrase "Beethoven Moonlight Sonata" was mentioned in a variety of declensions more than 35 thousand once. In order for you to roughly understand how large this number is, below I will present the monthly statistics of requests, but for other famous works of the composer (I compared the requests in the format “Beethoven + Title of the work”):

• Sonata No. 17— 2,392 requests
• pathetic sonata- almost 6000 requests
• Appassionata- 1500 requests...
• Symphony No. 5- about 25,000 requests
• Symphony No. 9- less than 7000 requests
• Heroic symphony- a little over 3,000 requests per month

As you can see, the popularity of "Lunar" significantly exceeds the popularity of other equally outstanding works of Beethoven. Only the famous "Fifth Symphony" came closest to the mark of 35,000 requests per month. At the same time, it should be noted that the popularity of the sonata was already at its height. during the composer's lifetime, about which Beethoven himself even complained to his student, Carl Czerny.

Indeed, according to Beethoven, among his creations were much more outstanding works, which I personally agree with. In particular, it remains a mystery to me why, for example, the same "Ninth Symphony" on the Internet is much less interested than the "Moonlight Sonata".

I wonder what data we will get if we compare the above-mentioned frequency of requests with the most famous works others great composers? Let's check, since we've already started:

• Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)- 30 688 requests,
• Requiem (Mozart)- 30 253 requests,
• Hallelujah (Handel)- a little over 1000 requests,
• Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninov)- 11 991 requests,
• Concert No. 1 (Tchaikovsky) - 6 930,
• Nocturnes by Chopin(the sum of all combined) - 13,383 requests...

As you can see, in the Russian-speaking audience of Yandex, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find a competitor to Moonlight Sonata. I think the situation is not much different abroad either!

You can talk endlessly about the popularity of Lunar. Therefore, I promise that this release will not be the only one, and from time to time we will supplement the site with new interesting details related to this wonderful work.

Today I will try as concisely as possible (if possible) to tell what I know about the history of the creation of this work, I will try to dispel some myths related to the origin of its name, and I will also share recommendations for beginner pianists who want to play this sonata.

History of the Moonlight Sonata. Juliet Guicciardi

In one of the articles I mentioned a letter from November 16, 1801 year, which Beethoven sent to his old friend - Wegeler(more about this episode of the biography:).

In that same letter, the composer complained to Wegeler about the dubious and unpleasant methods of treatment prescribed to him by the attending physician to prevent hearing loss (I remind you that Beethoven was not completely deaf at that time, but had long ago discovered that he was losing his hearing, and Wegeler, in his turn, was a professional doctor and, moreover, one of the first people to whom the young composer confessed to the development of deafness).

Further, in the same letter, Beethoven talks about "to a sweet and charming girl whom he loves and who loves him" . But then Beethoven makes it clear that this girl is higher than him in social status, which means that he needs "to be active" to be able to marry her.

under the word "act" First of all, I understand Beethoven's desire to overcome developing deafness as quickly as possible and, consequently, to significantly improve his financial situation through more intensive creativity and touring. Thus, it seems to me, the composer was trying to achieve marriage with a girl from an aristocratic family.

After all, even despite the lack of a young composer of any title, fame and money could equalize his chances of marriage with a young countess in comparison with some potential competitor from a noble family (at least that’s how, in my opinion, young composer).

Who is the Moonlight Sonata dedicated to?

The girl mentioned above was a young countess, by name - it was to her that the piano sonata "Opus 27, No. 2", which we now know as "Lunar", was dedicated.

In a nutshell, I'll tell you about biographies this girl, although very little is known about her. So, Countess Juliette Guicciardi was born on November 23, 1782 (and not 1784, as they often mistakenly write) in the town Přemysl(at that time was part of Kingdoms of Galicia and Lodomeria, and now located in Poland) in the family of an Italian count Francesco Giuseppe Guicciardi And Suzanne Guicciardi.

I do not know about the biographical details of this girl's childhood and early youth, but it is known that in 1800 Juliet moved with her family from Trieste, Italy to Vienna. In those days, Beethoven was in close contact with the young Hungarian count Franz Brunswick and his sisters Teresa, Josephine And Carolina(Charlotte).

Beethoven loved this family very much, because, despite the high social status and decent financial condition, the young count and his sisters were not too “spoiled” by the luxury of aristocratic life, but, on the contrary, communicated with the young and far from rich composer absolutely on an equal footing, bypassing any psychological difference in class. And, of course, they all admired the talent of Beethoven, who by that time had already established himself not only as one of the best pianists in Europe, but also quite well-known as a composer.

Moreover, Franz Brunswik and his sisters were fond of music themselves. The young count played the cello quite well, and Beethoven himself taught piano lessons to his older sisters, Teresa and Josephine, and, as far as I know, he did it for free. At the same time, the girls were quite talented pianists - the elder sister, Teresa, especially succeeded in this. Well, with Josephine, the composer will have an affair in a few years, but that's another story.

We will talk about members of the Brunsvik family in separate issues. I have mentioned them here only for the reason that it was through the Brunswick family that the young Countess Juliette Guicciardi met Beethoven, since Juliet's mother, Susanna Guicciardi (Brunswick's maiden name), was the aunt of Franz and his sisters. Well, Juliet, therefore, was their cousin.

In general, having arrived in Vienna, the charming Juliet quickly joined this company. The close relationship of her relatives with Beethoven, their sincere friendship and unconditional recognition of the talent of the young composer in this family somehow contributed to Juliet's acquaintance with Ludwig.

However, I, unfortunately, cannot give the exact date of this acquaintance. Western sources usually write that the composer met the young countess at the end of 1801, but, in my opinion, this is not entirely true. At least I know for sure that in the late spring of 1800 Ludwig spent time at the Brunsvik estate. The bottom line is that Juliet was also in this place at that time, and, therefore, by that time the young people should already have, if not friends, then at least get to know each other. Moreover, already in June, the girl moved to Vienna, and, given her close relationship with Beethoven's friends, I very much doubt that the young people really did not cross paths until 1801.

By the end of 1801, other events relate - most likely, it was at this time that Juliet takes Beethoven's first piano lessons, for which, as you know, the teacher did not take money. Any attempt to pay for music lessons Beethoven took as a personal insult. It is known that once Juliet's mother, Susanna Guicciardi, sent shirts to Ludwig as a gift. Beethoven, perceiving this gift as payment for his daughter's education (perhaps this was the case), wrote a rather emotional letter to his "potential mother-in-law" (January 23, 1802), in which he expressed his indignation and resentment, made it clear that he was engaged with Juliet not at all for the sake of material incentives, and also asked the countess not to commit such acts again, otherwise he "won't show up in their house again" .

As noted by a variety of biographers, Beethoven's new student wouldstrongly attracts him with her beauty, charm and talent (let me remind you that beautiful and talented pianists were one of Beethoven's most pronounced weaknesses). At the same time, withit is read that this sympathy was mutual, and later turned into a fairly strong romance. It is worth noting that Juliet was much younger than Beethoven - at the time of sending the above letter to Wegeler (remember, it was November 16, 1801), she was only seventeen years old without a week. However, apparently, the age difference (Beethoven was then 30) didn’t really bother the girl.

Did Juliet and Ludwig's relationship go as far as a marriage proposal? - Most biographers believe that this really happened, referring mainly to the famous Beethoven scholar - Alexander Wheelock Thayer. I quote the latter (the translation is not exact, but approximate):

A careful analysis and comparison of both published data and personal habits and hints received over several years in Vienna, suggest that Beethoven nevertheless decided to propose to Countess Julia, and that she did not mind, and that one parent agreed to this marriage, but the other parent, probably the father, expressed his refusal.

(A.W. Thayer, Part 1, page 292)

In the quote, I marked the word in red opinion, since Thayer himself emphasized this and emphasized in brackets that this note is not a fact based on competent evidence, but his personal conclusion obtained during the analysis of various data. But the fact is that it is precisely this opinion (which I am by no means trying to dispute) of such an authoritative Beethoven scholar as Thayer that has become the most popular in the writings of other biographers.

Thayer further emphasized that the refusal of the second parent (father) was primarily due to Beethoven's lack of any rank (probably meaning "title") status, permanent position and so on. In principle, if Thayer's assumption is correct, then Juliet's father can be understood! After all, the Guicciardi family, despite the title of count, was far from rich, and the pragmatism of Juliet's father did not allow him to give the beautiful daughter into the hands of an indigent musician, whose constant income at that time was only a philanthropic allowance of 600 florins a year (and that, thanks to Prince Likhnovsky).

One way or another, even if Thayer's assumption was inaccurate (which I doubt, however), and the matter still did not come to a proposal of marriage, then the romance of Ludwig and Juliet was still not destined to go to another level.

If back in the summer of 1801 young people were having a great time in Krompachy * , and in the fall Beethoven sends the same letter where he tells an old friend about his feelings and shares his dream of marriage, then already in 1802 the romantic relationship between the composer and the young countess noticeably fades away (and, first of all, from the side of the girl, because the composer is still was in love with her). * Krompachy is a small town in present-day Slovakia, and at that time was part of Hungary. The Brunsvik Hungarian estate was located there, including the pavilion where Beethoven is believed to have worked on the Moonlight Sonata.

The turning point in these relations was the appearance in them of a third person - the young Count Wenzel Robert Gallenberg (December 28, 1783 - March 13, 1839), an Austrian amateur composer who, despite the absence of any imposing fortune, was able to attract the attention of the young and frivolous Juliet and, thereby, became a competitor to Beethoven, gradually pushing him into the background.

Beethoven will never forgive Juliet for this betrayal. The girl, for whom he was crazy, and for whom he lived, not only preferred another man to him, but also gave preference to Gallenberg as a composer.

For Beethoven, this was a double whammy, because Gallenberg's composing talent was so mediocre that it was openly written about in the Viennese press. And even studying with such a wonderful teacher as Albrechtsberger (whom, let me remind you, Beethoven himself studied earlier), did not contribute to the development of musical thought in Gallenberg.niya, as evidenced by the obvious theft (plagiarism) by the young count of musical techniques from more famous composers.

As a result, around this time the publishing house Giovanni Cappi finally publishes the sonata "Opus 27, No. 2" with a dedication to Giulietta Guicciardi.

It is important to note that Beethoven composed this work quite not for Juliet. Previously, the composer had to dedicate a completely different work to this girl (Rondo in G Major, Opus 51 No. 2), a work much brighter and more cheerful. However, for technical reasons (completely unrelated to the relationship between Juliet and Ludwig), that work had to be dedicated to Princess Lichnowska.

Well, now, when “Juliet’s turn has come” again, this time Beethoven dedicates to the girl not a cheerful work at all (in memory of the happy summer of 1801, spent together in Hungary), but the very “C-sharp-minor” sonata, the first part of which has a pronounced mournful character(yes, it is “mourning”, but not “romantic”, as many people think - we will talk about this in more detail on the second page).

In conclusion, it should be noted that the relationship between Juliet and Count Gallenberg reached a legal marriage, which took place on November 3, 1803, but in the spring of 1806 the couple moved to Italy (more precisely, to Naples), where Gallenberg continued to compose his music and even what for some time he puts on ballets in the theater at the court of Joseph Bonaparte (the elder brother of that same Napoleon, at that time he was the king of Naples, and later became the king of Spain).

In 1821, the famous opera impresario Domenico Barbaia, who directed the aforementioned theater, became the manager of the famous Viennese theater with an unpronounceable name "Kerntnertor"(it was there that the final edition of Beethoven's opera Fidelio was staged, and the premiere of the Ninth Symphony took place) and, apparently, "dragged along" Gallenberg, who got a job in the administration of this theater and became responsible for the music archives, well, from January 1829 (that is, after the death of Beethoven) he himself rented the Kärntnertor-theatre. However, by May of the following year, the contract was terminated due to financial difficulties with Gallenberg.

There is evidence that Juliet, who moved to Vienna with her husband, who had serious financial problems, dared to ask Beethoven for financial help. The latter, surprisingly, helped her with a considerable amount of 500 florins, although he himself was forced to borrow this money from another rich man (I cannot say who exactly it was). Beethoven himself blurted this out in a dialogue with Anton Schindler. Beethoven also noted that Juliet asked him for reconciliation, but he did not forgive her.

Why the sonata was called "Lunar"

With the popularization and final consolidation in German society, the names "Moonlight Sonata" people came up with various myths and romantic stories about the origin of both this name and the work itself.

Unfortunately, even in our smart age of the Internet, these myths can sometimes be interpreted as real sources that answer the questions of certain network users.

Due to the technical and regulatory features of using the network, we cannot filter “incorrect” information from the Internet that misleads readers (probably for the better, because freedom of opinion is an important part of a modern democratic society) and find only “reliable information ". Therefore, we will only try to add to the Internet a little of the same “reliable” information, which, I hope, will help at least a few readers to separate myths from real facts.

The most popular myth about the origin of the Moonlight Sonata (both the work and its title) is the good old anecdote, according to which Beethoven allegedly composed this sonata, being under the impression after playing for a blind girl in a room lit by moonlight.

I will not copy the full text of the story - you can find it on the Internet. I only care about one point, namely, the fear that many people can (and do) perceive this anecdote as the real story of the origin of the sonata!

After all, this seemingly harmless fictional story, popular in the 19th century, never bothered me until I started noticing it on various Internet resources, posted as an illustration supposedly true history origin of the Moonlight Sonata. I also heard rumors that this story is used in the “collection of expositions” in the Russian language school curriculum - which means that, given that such a beautiful legend can easily be imprinted in children's minds, which can take this myth for truth, we simply have to contribute some credibility and note that this story is fictional.

To clarify: I have nothing against this story, which, in my opinion, is very pretty. However, if in the 19th century this anecdote was the subject of only folklore and artistic references (for example, the very first version of this myth is shown in the picture below, where her brother, a shoemaker, was in a room with a composer and a blind girl), now many people consider it a real biographical fact, and I cannot allow this.Therefore, I just want to note that the famous story about Beethoven and the blind girl is cute, but still fictitious.

To verify this, it is enough to study any manual on Beethoven's biography and make sure that the composer composed this sonata at the age of thirty, while in Hungary (probably partly in Vienna), and in the anecdote above, the action takes place in Bonn, a city that the composer finally left at the age of 21, when there was no question of any “Moonlight Sonata” (at that time Beethoven had not yet written even the “first” piano sonata, let alone the “fourteenth”).

How did Beethoven feel about the title?

Another myth associated with the name of the Piano Sonata No. 14 is Beethoven's positive or negative attitude towards the title "Moonlight Sonata".

I explain what I'm talking about: several times, while studying Western forums, I came across discussions where one user asked a question like the following: "How did the composer feel about the name "Moonlight Sonata". At the same time, other participants who answered this question, as a rule were divided into two camps.

• The participants of the “first” answered that Beethoven did not like this title, in contrast, for example, with the same “Pathetique” sonata.
• The participants in the "second camp" argued that Beethoven could not relate to the name "Moonlight Sonata" or, moreover, "Moonlight Sonata", since these names originated a few years after death composer in 1832 year (the composer died in 1827). At the same time, they noted that this work, indeed, was quite popular already during Beethoven's lifetime (the composer did not even like it), but it was about the work itself, and not about its name, which could not have been during the composer's lifetime.

From myself, I note that the participants of the "second camp" are closest to the truth, but there is also an important nuance here, which I will tell about in the next paragraph.

Who came up with the name?

The “nuance” mentioned above is the fact that in fact the first connection between the movement of the “first movement” of the sonata and moonlight was nevertheless made during Beethoven’s lifetime, namely in 1823, and not in 1832, as is usually said.

It's about the work "Theodore: a musical study", where at one moment the author of this short story compares the first movement (adagio) of the sonata with the following picture:

Under the "lake" on the screen above, we mean the lake Lucerne(it’s also “Fierwaldstet”, located in Switzerland), but I borrowed the quote itself from Larisa Kirillina (first volume, page 231), which, in turn, refers to Grundman (pages 53-54).

The above description of the Relshtab, of course, gave first prerequisites to the popularization of associations of the first movement of the sonata with lunar landscapes. However, in fairness, it should be noted that these associations did not at first make a significant pickup in society, and, as noted above, during the life of Beethoven, this sonata was still not spoken of as "Moonlight".

Most rapidly, this connection between “adagio” and moonlight began to be fixed in society already in 1852, when the famous music critic suddenly remembered the words of Relshtab Wilhelm von Lenz(who referred to the same associations with “lunar landscapes on the lake”, but, apparently, erroneously named not 1823, but 1832 as a date), after which a new wave of propaganda of Relshtab associations began in the musical society and, as a result, the gradual formation of the now known name.

Already in 1860, Lenz himself uses the term "Moonlight Sonata", after which this name is finally fixed and used both in the press and in folklore, and, as a result, in society.

Brief description of "Moonlight Sonata"

And now, knowing the history of the creation of the work and the emergence of its name, you can finally get acquainted with it briefly. I immediately warn you: we will not conduct a volumetric musical analysis, because I still cannot do it better than professional musicologists, whose detailed analyzes of this work you can find on the Internet (Goldenweiser, Kremlev, Kirillina, Bobrovsky and others).

I will only give you the opportunity to listen to this sonata performed by professional pianists, and along the way I will also give my brief comments and advice for beginner pianists who want to play this sonata. I note that I am not a professional pianist, but I think that I can give a couple of useful tips for beginners.

So, as noted earlier, this sonata was published under the catalog title "Opus 27, No. 2", and among the thirty-two piano sonatas is the "fourteenth". Let me remind you that the “thirteenth” piano sonata (Opus 27, No. 1) was also published under the same opus.

Both of these sonatas are united by a freer form compared to most other classical sonatas, which is openly indicated to us by the composer's author's note "Sonata in the manner of fantasy" on the title pages of both sonatas.

Sonata No. 14 consists of three parts:

1. slow part "Adagio sostenuto" in C-sharp minor
2. Calm Allegretto minuet character
3. Stormy and fast « Presto agitato"

Oddly enough, but, in my opinion, Sonata No. 13 deviates much more from the classical sonata form than "Moonlight". Moreover, even the twelfth sonata (opus 26), where the first movement uses a theme and variations, I consider much more revolutionary in terms of form, although this work was not awarded the mark "in the manner of fantasy."

For clarification, let's recall what we talked about in the issue about "". I quote:

“The formula for the structure of Beethoven's first four-movement sonatas was generally based on the following template:

• Part 1 - Quick "Allegro";
• Part 2 - Slow motion;
• Movement 3 - Minuet or Scherzo;
• Part 4 - The ending is usually fast."

Now imagine what will happen if we cut off the first part in this template and start, as it were, immediately with the second. In this case, we will have the following three-movement sonata template:

• Part 1 - Slow motion;
• Part 2 - Minuet or Scherzo;
• Part 3 - The final is usually fast.

Doesn't it remind you of anything? As you can see, the form of the Moonlight Sonata is not really that revolutionary, and is essentially very similar to the form of Beethoven's very first sonatas.

It just feels as if Beethoven, while composing this work, simply decided: “Why don’t I start the sonata right away from the second movement?” and turned this idea into reality - it looks exactly like this (at least in my opinion).

Play recordings

Now, finally, I propose to get acquainted with the work closer. To begin with, I recommend listening to "audio recordings" of the performance of Sonata No. 14 by professional pianists.

Part 1(performed by Evgeny Kissin):

Part 2(performed by Wilhelm Kempf):

Part 3(performed by Yenyeo Yando):

Important!

On next page we will review each part of the Moonlight Sonata, where I will give my comments along the way.

At the very end of the 18th century, Ludwig van Beethoven was in his prime, he was incredibly popular, led an active social life, he could rightfully be called the idol of the youth of that time. But one circumstance began to overshadow the life of the composer - a gradually fading ear. “I drag out a bitter existence,” Beethoven wrote to his friend. “I am deaf. With my craft, nothing can be more terrible ... Oh, if I got rid of this disease, I would embrace the whole world.

In 1800, Beethoven met the Guicciardi aristocrats who had come from Italy to Vienna. The daughter of a respectable family, sixteen-year-old Juliet, had good musical abilities and wished to take piano lessons from the idol of the Viennese aristocracy. Beethoven does not take payment from the young countess, and she in turn gives him a dozen shirts that she sewed herself.

Beethoven was a strict teacher. When he didn’t like Juliet’s playing, he was annoyed and threw notes on the floor, defiantly turned away from the girl, and she silently collected notebooks from the floor.
Juliette was pretty, young, outgoing and flirtatious with her 30-year-old teacher. And Beethoven succumbed to her charm. “Now I am more often in society, and therefore my life has become more cheerful,” he wrote to Franz Wegeler in November 1800. - This change was made in me by a sweet, charming girl who loves me, and whom I love. I again have bright moments, and I come to the conclusion that marriage can make a person happy. Beethoven thought about marriage despite the fact that the girl belonged to an aristocratic family. But the composer in love consoled himself with the fact that he would give concerts, achieve independence, and then marriage would become possible.

He spent the summer of 1801 in Hungary at the estate of the Hungarian counts of Brunswick, relatives of Juliet's mother, in Korompa. The summer spent with his beloved was the happiest time for Beethoven.
At the peak of his feelings, the composer set about creating a new sonata. The arbor, in which, according to legend, Beethoven composed magical music, has been preserved to this day. In the homeland of the work, in Austria, it is known under the name "Garden House Sonata" or "Sonata - Arbor".

The sonata began in a state of great love, delight and hope. Beethoven was sure that Juliet had the most tender feelings for him. Many years later, in 1823, Beethoven, then already deaf and communicating with the help of conversational notebooks, talking with Schindler, wrote: “I was very loved by her and more than ever, was her husband ...”
In the winter of 1801-1802, Beethoven completed the composition of a new work. And in March 1802, Sonata No. 14, which the composer called quasi una Fantasia, that is, "in the spirit of fantasy", was published in Bonn with the dedication "Alla Damigella Contessa Giullietta Guicciardri" ("Dedicated to Countess Juliette Guicciardi").
The composer was finishing his masterpiece in anger, fury and the strongest resentment: from the first months of 1802, the windy coquette showed a clear preference for the eighteen-year-old Count Robert von Gallenberg, who was also fond of music and composed very mediocre musical opuses. However, Juliet Gallenberg seemed brilliant.
The whole storm of human emotions that was in Beethoven's soul at that time, the composer conveys in his sonata. These are grief, doubts, jealousy, doom, passion, hope, longing, tenderness and, of course, love.

Beethoven and Juliet broke up. And even later, the composer received a letter. It ended with cruel words: “I am leaving a genius who has already won, to a genius who is still fighting for recognition. I want to be his guardian angel." It was a "double blow" - as a man and as a musician. In 1803 Giulietta Guicciardi married Gallenberg and left for Italy.
In turmoil in October 1802, Beethoven left Vienna and went to Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the famous "Heiligenstadt Testament" (October 6, 1802): "Oh you people who think that I am malicious, stubborn, ill-mannered - how unfair to me; you do not know the secret reason for what you think. Since childhood, I have been predisposed in my heart and mind to a tender feeling of kindness, I have always been ready to do great things. But just think that for six years now I have been in an unfortunate state ... I am completely deaf ... "
Fear, the collapse of hopes give rise to thoughts of suicide in the composer. But Beethoven gathered his strength, decided to start a new life and, in almost absolute deafness, created great masterpieces.
In 1821 Juliet returned to Austria and came to live with Beethoven. Crying, she recalled the wonderful time when the composer was her teacher, talked about the poverty and difficulties of her family, asked to forgive her and help with money. Being a kind and noble man, the maestro gave her a significant amount, but asked her to leave and never appear in his house. Beethoven seemed indifferent and indifferent. But who knows what was going on in his heart, torn by numerous disappointments.
“I despised her,” Beethoven recalled much later. “After all, if I wanted to give my life to this love, what would be left for the noble, for the higher?”

In the autumn of 1826, Beethoven fell ill. Exhausting treatment, three complex operations could not put the composer on his feet. Throughout the winter, without getting out of bed, he was completely deaf, tormented by the fact that ... he could not continue to work. On March 26, 1827, the great musical genius Ludwig van Beethoven died.
After his death, a letter “To the immortal beloved” was found in a secret drawer of the wardrobe (this is how Beethoven titled the letter himself): “My angel, my everything, my self ... Why is there deep sadness where necessity reigns? Can our love endure only at the cost of sacrifice by refusing to be full, can't you change the situation in which you are not wholly mine and I am not wholly yours? What a life! Without you! So close! So far! What longing and tears for you - you - you, my life, my everything ... ”Many will then argue about who exactly the message is addressed to. But a small fact points specifically to Juliet Guicciardi: next to the letter was a tiny portrait of Beethoven's beloved, made by an unknown master, and the Heiligenstadt Testament.

Be that as it may, it was Juliet who inspired Beethoven to write an immortal masterpiece.
“The monument to love, which he wanted to create with this sonata, very naturally turned into a mausoleum. For a man like Beethoven, love could not be anything else than hope beyond the grave and sorrow, spiritual mourning here on earth ”(Alexander Serov, composer and music critic).
Sonata "in the spirit of fantasy" was at first simply Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, which consisted of three movements - Adagio, Allegro and Finale. In 1832, the German poet Ludwig Relshtab, one of Beethoven's friends, saw in the first part of the work the image of Lake Lucerne on a quiet night, with moonlight reflecting from the surface with overflows. He suggested the name "Lunar". Years will pass, and the first measured part of the work: “Adagio sonata N 14 quasi una fantasia”, will become known to the whole world under the name “Moonlight Sonata”.

Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, op. 14 No. 2 was written by Beethoven in 1798 and published together with the Ninth Sonata. Also, like the Ninth, it is dedicated to Baroness Josef von Braun. There are three movements in the sonata: Allegro Andante Scherzo ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, op. 22, was written by Beethoven in 1799-1800 and is dedicated to Count von Braun. The sonata has four movements: Allegro con brio Adagio con molt espressione Menuetto Rondo. Allegretto Links Notes ... ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, op. 26, was written by Beethoven in 1800-1801 and first published in 1802. It is dedicated to Prince Karl von Lichnowski. The sonata has four parts: Andante con variazioni Scherzo, ... ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major, Sonata quasi una Fantasia, op. 27 No. 1, was written by Beethoven in 1800-1801 and is dedicated to Princess Josephine von Lichtenstein. There are three movements in the sonata: Andante Allegro Allegro molto e vivace ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, op. 28, was written by Beethoven in 1801 and is dedicated to Count Joseph von Sonnenfels. The sonata was published as "Pastoral", but this name did not stick. The sonata has four movements: Allegro Andante ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, op. 31 No. 1, was written by Beethoven in 1801-1802, together with Sonata No. 17, and is dedicated to Princess von Braun. There are three movements in the sonata Allegro vivace Adagio grazioso Rondo. Allegretto presto ... ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major, op. 31 No. 3 was written by Beethoven in 1802, along with sonatas No. 16 and No. 17. This is Beethoven's last sonata, in which the minuet is used as one of the parts, and in general ... ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, op. 49 No. 1 composition by Ludwig van Beethoven, written presumably in the mid-1790s. and published in 1805 together with Sonata No. 20 under the general title "Easy Sonatas" ... ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op. 2 No. 1, was written by Beethoven in 1794-1795, together with sonatas No. 2 and No. 3, and is dedicated to Joseph Haydn. The sonata has four parts: Allegro Adagio Menuetto: Allegretto Prestissimo ... ... Wikipedia

Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, op. 49 No. 2 a composition by Ludwig van Beethoven, written presumably in the mid-1790s. and published in 1805 together with Sonata No. 19 under the general title "Easy Sonatas" ... ... Wikipedia

Books

• Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
• "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven, S. Khentov. The book tells in a popular and fascinating way about the history of the creation of the MOON SONATA, about the "performing life" of this brilliant work...