Form 1 part of the moonlight sonata. The history of the creation of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata": a brief overview

A work of genius by the great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata).

Beethoven's sonata, written in 1801, originally had a rather prosaic title - Piano Sonata No. 14. But in 1832, the German music critic Ludwig Rellstab compared the sonata to the moon shining over Lake Lucerne. So this composition received the now widely known name - “Moonlight Sonata”. The composer himself was no longer alive by that time ...

At the very end of the 18th century, 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 - gradually fading hearing.

Suffering from an illness, Beethoven stopped going out and became practically a recluse. He was overcome by physical torment: constant incurable tinnitus. In addition, the composer also experienced mental anguish due to the approaching deafness: “What will happen to me?” he wrote to his friend.

In 1800, Beethoven met the Guicciardi aristocrats who had come from Italy to Vienna. The daughter of a respectable family, sixteen-year-old Juliet, struck the composer at first sight. Soon, Beethoven began to give the girl piano lessons, moreover, completely free of charge. Juliet had good musical abilities and grasped all his advice on the fly. She was pretty, young, outgoing and flirtatious with her 30-year-old teacher.

Beethoven fell in love, sincerely, with all the passion of his nature. He fell in love for the first time, and his soul was full of pure joy and bright hope. He is not young! But she, as it seemed to him, is perfection, and can become for him a consolation in illness, joy in everyday life and a muse in creativity. Beethoven is seriously considering marrying Juliet, because she is nice to him and encourages his feelings.

True, more and more often the composer feels helpless due to progressive hearing loss, his financial situation is unstable, he does not have a title or “blue blood” (his father is a court musician, and his mother is the daughter of a court chef), and Juliet is an aristocrat ! In addition, his beloved begins to give preference to Count Gallenberg.

The whole storm of human emotions that was in his soul at that time, the composer conveys in the Moonlight Sonata. These are grief, doubts, jealousy, doom, passion, hope, longing, tenderness and, of course, love.

The strength of the feelings that he experienced during the creation of the masterpiece is shown by the events that occurred after it was written. Juliet, forgetting about Beethoven, agreed to become the wife of Count Gallenberg, who was also a mediocre composer. And, apparently deciding to play the adult temptress, she finally sent a letter to Beethoven, in which she said: “I am leaving one genius for another.” It was a cruel "double blow" - as a man and as a musician.

The composer, in search of loneliness, torn by the feelings of a rejected lover, left for the estate of his friend Maria Erdedi. For three days and three nights he wandered through the forest. When they found him in a remote thicket, exhausted from hunger, he could not even speak ...

Beethoven wrote a sonata in 1800-1801, calling it quasi una Fantasia - that is, "in the spirit of fantasy." Its first edition dates from 1802 and is dedicated to Giulietta Guicciardi. At first it was simply Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, which consisted of three movements - Adagio, Allegro and Finale. In 1832, the German poet Ludwig Relstab compared the first movement to a walk on a moon-silvered lake. Years will pass, and the first measured part of the work will become a hit of all times and peoples. And, probably, for the sake of convenience, the Adagio Sonata No. 14 quasi una Fantasia will be replaced by the majority of the population simply with the Moonlight Sonata.

Six months after writing the sonata, on October 6, 1802, Beethoven writes the "Heiligenstadt testament" in desperation. Some Beethoven scholars believe that it was Countess Guicciardi who the composer addressed the letter known as the letter "to the immortal beloved." It was discovered after Beethoven's death in a secret drawer of his wardrobe. Beethoven kept a miniature portrait of Juliet along with this letter and the "Heiligenstadt testament". The anguish of unrequited love, the agony of hearing loss - all this was expressed by the composer in the Moonlight Sonata.

This is how a great work was born: in the throes of love, throwing, ecstasy and devastation. But it was probably worth it. Beethoven later still experienced a bright feeling for another woman. And Juliet, by the way, according to one of the versions, later realized the inaccuracy of her calculations. And, realizing the genius of Beethoven, she came to him and begged for his forgiveness. However, he never forgave her...

"Moonlight Sonata" performed by Stephen Sharpe Nelson on the electric cello.

The creator of the "Moonlight Sonata" called it "a sonata in the spirit of fantasy." It was inspired by a mixture of romance, tenderness and sadness. Sadness was mixed with desperation of the approach of the inevitable ... and uncertainty.

What was it like for Beethoven when he composed the fourteenth sonata? On the one hand, he was in love with his charming student, Juliet Guichardi, and even made plans for a joint future. On the other hand… he understood that he was developing deafness. But for a musician, hearing loss is almost worse than vision loss!

Where did the word "lunar" come from in the title of the sonata?

According to some reports, after the death of the composer, his friend Ludwig Relshtab called it that. According to others (someone like it, but I still tend to trust school textbooks) - it was called that only because there was a fashion for everything “lunar”. More precisely, on "lunar designations".

And so, prosaically, the name of one of the most magical works of the Great Composer appeared.

heavy forebodings

Everyone has their own holy of holies. And, as a rule, this most intimate place is where the author creates. Beethoven in his holy of holies not only composed music, but also ate, slept, pardon the detail, defecated. In short, he had a very peculiar relationship with the piano: sheet music lay in heaps on top of it, and an unempty chamber pot stood at the bottom. More precisely, the notes were lying around wherever you can imagine, including on the piano. The maestro did not differ in accuracy.

Is anyone else surprised that he was rejected by the girl he had the imprudence to fall in love with? Of course, I understand that he was a Great Composer… but if I were in her place, I wouldn't be able to stand it either.

Or maybe it's for the best? After all, if that lady had made him happy with her attention, then it was she who would have taken the place of the piano ... And then one can only guess how it would have ended. But it was to Countess Juliet Guichardi that he dedicated one of the greatest works of the time.

At thirty, Beethoven had every reason to be happy. He was an established and successful composer who was popular with the aristocrats. He was a great virtuoso, who was not spoiled even by not so hot manners (oh, and the influence of Mozart is felt here! ..).

But the good mood pretty much spoiled the foreboding of trouble: his hearing was gradually fading away. For several years, Ludwig noticed that his hearing was getting worse and worse. Why did this happen? It is hidden by the veil of time.

He was plagued day and night by noise in his ears. He could hardly distinguish the words of the speakers, and in order to distinguish the sounds of the orchestra, he was forced to stand closer and closer.

And at the same time, the composer hid the illness. He had to suffer silently and imperceptibly, which could not add much cheerfulness. Therefore, what others saw was only a game, a skillful game for the public.

But suddenly something happened that confused the soul of the musician much more ...

Giulietta Guicciardi… the woman whose portrait Ludwig van Beethoven kept along with the Heiligenstadt Testament and the unsent letter addressed to the “Immortal Beloved” (and it is possible that this mysterious lover was she).

In 1800, Juliet was eighteen years old, and Beethoven gave lessons to a young aristocrat - but the communication of these two soon went beyond the relationship between teacher and student: “It became more comfortable for me to live ... This change was made by the charm of one sweet girl,” the composer admits in a letter to friend, associating with Juliet "the first happy moments in the last two years." In the summer of 1801, which Beethoven, together with Juliet, spends on the estate of her Brunswick relatives, he no longer doubts that he is loved, that happiness is possible - even the noble origin of the chosen one did not seem to him an insurmountable obstacle ...

But the girl’s imagination was captured by Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg, an aristocratic composer, far from the most significant figure in the music of his era, but the young Countess Gvichchardi considered him a genius, which she did not fail to inform her teacher about. This infuriated Beethoven, and soon Juliet informed him in a letter of her decision to leave "from a genius who had already won, to a genius who was still fighting for recognition" ... Juliet's marriage to Gallenberg was not particularly happy, and she met Beethoven again in 1821 - Juliet turned to her former lover with a request for ... financial assistance. “She harassed me in tears, but I despised her,” Beethoven described this meeting, however, he kept a portrait of this woman ... But all this will happen later, and then the composer was hard pressed by this blow of fate. Love for Juliet Guicciardi did not make him happy, but gave the world one of the most beautiful works of Ludwig van Beethoven - the Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor.

The sonata is known under the name "Lunar". The composer himself did not give her such a name - it was assigned to the work with the light hand of the German writer and music critic Ludwig Relshtab, who saw in the first part of her "moonlight over Lake Firwaldstet". Paradoxically, this name took root, although it met with many objections - in particular, Anton Rubinstein argued that the tragedy of the first part and the stormy feelings of the finale did not at all correspond to the melancholy and "gentle light" of the landscape of the moonlit night.

Sonata No. 14 was published in 1802 together with. Both works were defined by the author as "Sonata quasi una Fantasia". This implied a departure from the traditional, established structure of the sonata cycle, built on the principle of contrast "quick - slow - fast". The fourteenth sonata develops linearly - from slow to fast.

The first movement, Adagio sostenuto, is written in a form that combines two-part and sonata features. The main theme seems extremely simple when viewed in isolation - but the persistent repetition of the fifth tone gives it exceptional emotional intensity. This feeling is intensified by the triplet figuration, against which the entire first movement passes - like a haunting thought. The bass voice in rhythm almost coincides with the melodic line, thereby strengthening it, giving significance. These elements develop in a change of harmonic color, juxtaposition of registers, representing a whole gamut of feelings: sadness, a bright dream, determination, “mortal despondency” – as Alexander Serov aptly put it.

Music Seasons

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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 big 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,
• Chopin nocturnes(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 the 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 lack of any imposing fortune, was able to attract the attention of the young and frivolous Juliet and, thereby, became Beethoven's competitor, 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 thinking 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 mourning 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 version 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 picture below shows the very first version of this myth, 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 above-mentioned anecdote, 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 "Pathetic" 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 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 very 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 warn you right away: 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;
• Movement 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 the next page we will review each part of the Moonlight Sonata, where I will give my comments along the way.

This romantic name for the sonata was given not by the author himself, but by the music critic Ludwig Relshtab in 1832, after Beethoven's death.

And the composer's sonata had a more prosaic name:Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, op. 27, no. 2.Then they began to add to this name in brackets: "Lunar". Moreover, this second name applied only to its first part, the music of which seemed to critics to be similar to moonlight over Lake Firwaldstet - this is a famous lake in Switzerland, which is also called Lucerne. This lake has nothing to do with the name of Beethoven, just such a game of associations.

So, Moonlight Sonata.

History of creation and romantic overtones

Sonata No. 14 was written in 1802 and is dedicated to Giulietta Guicciardi (Italian by birth). Beethoven gave music lessons to this 18-year-old girl in 1801 and fell in love with her. Not just in love, but had serious intentions to marry her, but she, unfortunately, fell in love with another and married him. Later she became a famous Austrian pianist and singer.

Art critics believe that he even left a testament in which he calls Juliet his "immortal lover" - he sincerely believed that his love was mutual. This is evident from Beethoven's letter dated November 16, 1801: "The change that has now taken place in me is caused by a sweet wonderful girl who loves me and is loved by me."

But when you listen to the third part of this sonata, you understand that at the time of writing the work, Beethoven no longer experienced any illusions about reciprocity on the part of Juliet. But first things first…

The form of this sonata is somewhat different from the classical sonata form. And Beethoven emphasized this in the subtitle "in the spirit of fantasy."

sonata form is a musical form that consists of 3 main sections: the first section is called exposition, it contrasts the main and side parts. Second section - development, in which these topics are developed. Third section - reprise, repeats the exposure with changes.

"Moonlight Sonata" consists of 3 parts.

1 part Adagio sostenuto- slow musical tempo. In classical sonata form, this tempo is usually used in the middle movement. The music is slow and rather mournful, its rhythmic movement is somewhat monotonous, which is not very consistent with Beethoven's music. But the bass chords, melody and rhythm surprisingly create a living harmony of sounds that fascinate any listener and remind of the magical moonlight.

part 2 Allegretto- Moderately brisk pace. There is some kind of hope, a spiritual uplift. But it does not lead to a happy ending, as the last, third part will show.

part 3 Presto agitato- very fast paced. In contrast to the perky mood of the Allegro tempo, Presto usually sounds brash and even aggressive, and its complexity requires a virtuoso level of musical instrument proficiency. The writer Romain Rolland described the last part of Beethoven's sonata in an interesting and figurative way: “A man driven to the extreme falls silent, his breath stops. And when, in a minute, the breath comes to life and the person rises, futile efforts, sobs, and riots are over. Everything is said, the soul is devastated. In the last bars, only the majestic force remains, conquering, taming, accepting the flow.

Indeed, this is the strongest flow of feelings, in which despair, hope, the collapse of hopes and the inability to express the pain that a person experiences. Amazing music!

Modern perception of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. It is often performed at concerts, it sounds in many films, performances, skaters use it for their performances, it sounds in the background in video games.

The performers of this sonata were the most famous pianists of the world: Glenn Gould, Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels and many others.