The history of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. "Moonlight Sonata"

Ludwig van Beethoven
Moonlight Sonata

This happened in 1801. The gloomy and unsociable composer fell in love. Who is she who won the heart of the brilliant creator? Sweet, spring-beautiful, with an angelic face and a divine smile, eyes in which you wanted to drown, sixteen-year-old aristocrat Juliet Guicciardi.

In a letter to Franz Wegeler, Beethoven asks a friend about his birth certificate, explaining that he is thinking about getting married. His chosen one was Juliet Guicciardi. Rejecting Beethoven, the inspiration " Moonlight Sonata"married a mediocre musician, young count Gallenberg, and went with him to Italy.

“Moonlight Sonata” was supposed to be an engagement gift with which Beethoven hoped to convince Giulietta Guicciardi to accept his marriage proposal. However, the matrimonial hopes of the composers had nothing to do with the birth of the sonata. "Moonlight" was one of two sonatas published under the title Opus 27, both of which were composed in the summer of 1801, the same year that Beethoven wrote his emotional and tragic letter to his friend. to a school friend Franz Wegeler in Bonn and admitted for the first time that he had begun to have hearing problems.

The "Moonlight Sonata" was originally called the "Garden Arbor Sonata", after its publication Beethoven gave it and the second sonata the general title "Quasi una Fantasia" (which can be translated as "Fantasy Sonata"); this gives us a clue to the mood of the composer at that time. Beethoven desperately wanted to take his mind off his impending deafness, while at the same time he met and fell in love with his student Juliet. Famous name“Lunar” arose almost by accident; it was given to the sonata by a German novelist, playwright and music critic Ludwig Relshtab.

A German poet, novelist and music critic, Relstab met Beethoven in Vienna shortly before the composer's death. He sent Beethoven several of his poems in the hope that he would set them to music. Beethoven looked through the poems and even marked a few of them; but I didn’t have time to do anything more. During the posthumous performance of Beethoven's works, Relstab heard Opus 27 No. 2, and in his article enthusiastically noted that the beginning of the sonata reminded him of the play of moonlight on the surface of Lake Lucerne. Since then, this work has been called “Moonlight Sonata”.

The first movement of the sonata is certainly one of the most famous works Beethoven, composed for piano. This passage shared the fate of “Fur Elise” and became a favorite work of amateur pianists for the simple reason that they special labor can execute it (of course, if they do it slowly enough).
This is slow and dark music, and Beethoven specifically states that the damper pedal should not be used here, since each note in this section must be clearly distinguishable.

But there is one strange thing here. Despite the worldwide fame of this movement and the widespread recognition of its first bars, if you try to hum or whistle it, you will almost certainly fail: you will find it almost impossible to catch the melody. And this is not the only case. This is characteristic feature Beethoven's music: he could create incredible popular works, in which there is no melody. Such works include the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, as well as the no less famous fragment of the Fifth Symphony.

The second part is the complete opposite of the first - it is cheerful, almost happy music. But listen more closely, and you will notice shades of regret in it, as if happiness, even if it existed, turned out to be too fleeting. The third part bursts into anger and confusion. Non-professional musicians, who proudly perform the first part of the sonata, very rarely approach the second part and never attempt the third, which requires virtuoso skill.

No evidence has reached us that Giulietta Guicciardi ever played a sonata dedicated to her; most likely, this work disappointed her. The gloomy beginning of the sonata did not at all correspond to its light and cheerful character. As for the third movement, poor Juliet must have turned pale with fear at the sight of hundreds of notes, and finally realized that she would never be able to perform in front of her friends the sonata that the famous composer dedicated to her.

Subsequently, Juliet, with respectable honesty, told researchers of Beethoven’s life that great composer I didn’t think about it at all when creating my masterpiece. Guicciardi's evidence raises the possibility that Beethoven composed both Opus 27 sonatas, as well as the Opus 29 String Quintet, in an attempt to somehow come to terms with his impending deafness. This is also indicated by the fact that in November 1801, that is, several months after the previous letter and the writing of the “Moonlight Sonata,” Beethoven mentioned in a letter about Juliet Guicciardi, a “charming girl” who loves me, and whom I love "

Beethoven himself was irritated by the unprecedented popularity of his Moonlight Sonata. “Everyone is talking about the C-sharp-minor sonata! I wrote the best things!” he once said angrily to his student Cherny.

Presentation

Included:
1. Presentation - 7 slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Beethoven. Moonlight Sonata - I. Adagio sostenuto, mp3;
Beethoven. Moonlight Sonata - II. Allegretto, mp3;
Beethoven. Moonlight Sonata - III. Presto agitato, mp3;
Beethoven. Moonlight Sonata 1 part Symph. ork, mp3;
3. Accompanying article, docx.

Beethoven's famous Moonlight Sonata appeared in 1801. In those years, the composer was not worried best time in your life. On the one hand, he was successful and popular, his works became increasingly 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 was tormented by deep emotions in his soul - he began to lose his hearing. This was a terrible misfortune 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, and almost visually imagined all the subtleties of rich orchestral colors.

The causes of the disease remained unknown. Perhaps it was due to excessive hearing strain, or a cold and inflammation of the ear nerve. Be that as it may, Beethoven suffered from unbearable tinnitus day and night, and the entire 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 high sounds orchestra playing, he could hardly distinguish the words of the people speaking to him. He hid his deafness from friends and family and tried to be in society as little as possible. At this time, 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 to him to quench his worries and sorrows. He was captivated by the cheerfulness, good nature and sociability of the young student. Beethoven and Juliet began a relationship, and he felt a taste for life. He began to go out more often, he learned to rejoice again simple things- music, sun, beloved smile. Beethoven dreamed that one day 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 were not destined to come true. The flighty and frivolous coquette began an affair with the aristocratic Count Robert Gallenberg. She became uninterested in the deaf, poor composer from a simple family. Very soon Juliet became 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 rage. 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 careless Juliet. In it, he wrote about how much she meant to him, and what melancholy washed 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 Relstab, called the “Moonlight” sonata after his death. At the sound of the sonata, he imagined the quiet surface of the lake and a lonely boat floating on it under the uncertain light of the moon.

To the question Help please. I can’t find the history of the creation of the 14th lunar sonata. (Beethoven) given by the author Neuropathologist the best answer is Beethoven's famous Moonlight Sonata appeared in 1801. In those years, the composer was not going through the best time in his life. On the one hand, he was successful and popular, his works became increasingly 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 was tormented by deep emotions in his soul - he began to lose his hearing. This was a terrible misfortune 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, and almost visually imagined all the subtleties of rich orchestral colors.
The causes of the disease remained unknown. Perhaps it was due to excessive hearing strain, or a cold and inflammation of the ear nerve. Be that as it may, Beethoven suffered from unbearable tinnitus day and night, and the entire 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 had difficulty distinguishing the words of the people speaking to him. He hid his deafness from friends and family and tried to be in society as little as possible. At this time, 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 to him to quench his worries and sorrows. He was captivated by the cheerfulness, good nature and sociability of the young student. Beethoven and Juliet began a relationship, and he felt a taste for life. He began to go out more often, he learned again to enjoy simple things - music, the sun, the smile of his beloved. Beethoven dreamed that one day 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 were not destined to come true. The flighty and frivolous coquette began an affair with the aristocratic Count Robert Gallenberg. She became uninterested in the deaf, poor composer from a simple family. Very soon Juliet became 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 rage. 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 careless Juliet. In it, he wrote about how much she meant to him, and what melancholy washed 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 Relstab, called the “Moonlight” sonata after his death. At the sound of the sonata, he imagined the quiet surface of the lake and a lonely boat floating on it under the uncertain light of the moon.

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The most famous composition appeared to the world in 1801. On the one hand, for the composer these times are the time of 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 the seemingly cheerful, happy man was tormented by deep emotions. The composer begins to lose his hearing. For a person who previously had amazingly subtle and accurate hearing, this was a huge shock. None medical supplies couldn't get rid of musical genius from unbearable noise in the ears. Ludwig Van Beethoven tries not to upset his loved ones, hides his problem from them, and avoids public events.
But in this difficult time, the composer’s life will be filled bright colors 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 great feeling, the taste of life returned. The composer goes out into the world again 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 marriage, family life failed. Young frivolous Juliet turns on 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 his beloved's betrayal has lost all taste, his heart is completely broken.
But despite this, feelings of love, grief, melancholy from parting and despair from unbearable physical suffering associated with the disease, gave rise to an unforgettable work of art.

Today we will get acquainted with piano sonata No. 14, better known as “Moonlight” or “Moonlight Sonata”.

• Page 1:
• Introduction. Popularity phenomenon of this work
• Why was the sonata called “Moonlight” (the myth of Beethoven and the “blind girl”, the real story behind the name)
• General characteristics of “Moonlight Sonata” ( brief description works 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 interested in Beethoven's work! My name is Yuri Vanyan, and I am the editor of the site you are on now. For more than a year now, I have been publishing detailed and sometimes short introductory articles about the most different works great composer.

However, to my shame, the frequency of publication of new articles on our website has dropped significantly due to my personal employment in lately, which I promise to fix in the near future (I will probably have to involve other authors). But I’m even more ashamed that I’m still this resource not a single article was published about the “calling card” of Beethoven’s work - the famous “Moonlight Sonata”. IN today's episode I will finally try to fill this significant gap.

The phenomenon of popularity of this work

I called the work for a reason « business 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 times 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: “What works of Beethoven could eclipse Lunar in terms of popularity?” - And you know what’s the funniest thing? I cannot now, in real time, remember at least one such work!

Look for yourself - in April 2018, in the search bar of the Yandex network alone, the phrase “Beethoven Moonlight Sonata” was mentioned in a variety of declensions more than 35 thousand once. So that you can roughly understand how large number, below I will present monthly statistics of requests, but for other famous works of the composer (requests were compared 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— just over 3000 requests per month

As you can see, the popularity of “Lunar” significantly exceeds the popularity of other, no less outstanding works of Beethoven. Only the famous “Fifth Symphony” came closest to the mark of 35 thousand requests per month. It is worth noting that the popularity of the sonata was already at its height. during the composer's lifetime, which Beethoven himself even complained about to his student, Karl Czerny.

After all, according to Beethoven, among his creations were much more outstanding works, which I personally absolutely agree with. In particular, it remains a mystery to me why, for example, the same “Ninth Symphony” is much less popular on the Internet 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 it out now that we've already started:

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

As you can see, in the Russian-speaking audience of Yandex, finding a competitor to “Moonlight Sonata” is very difficult, if at all possible. I think the situation abroad is not much different either!

We can talk endlessly about the popularity of “Lunarium”. Therefore, I promise that this issue will not be the only one, and from time to time we will update the site with new interesting details related to this wonderful work.

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

The history of the creation 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 dubious and unpleasant treatment methods prescribed to him by his attending physician to prevent hearing loss (let me remind you that Beethoven was not completely deaf by that time, but had long since discovered that he was losing his hearing, and Wegeler, in his In turn, he 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 the sweet and charming girl whom he loves and who loves him" . But Beethoven immediately makes it clear that this girl is higher than him in social status, which means he needs "actively act" so that there is an opportunity to marry her.

Under the word "act" I understand, first of all, Beethoven’s desire to overcome developing deafness as quickly as possible and, therefore, significantly improve financial situation due to more intensive creativity and touring. Thus, it seems to me that the composer was trying to achieve marriage with a girl from an aristocratic family.

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

Who is Moonlight Sonata dedicated to?

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

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

I don't know about biographical details of childhood and early youth this girl, but it is known that in 1800 Juliet and her family moved from Italian Trieste to Vienna. At that time, Beethoven was in close contact with the young Hungarian count Franz Brunswik and his sisters - Teresa, Josephine And Carolina(Charlotte).

Beethoven loved this family very much, because, despite the high social status and a 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 on an absolutely equal basis, 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 famous as a composer.

Moreover, Franz Brunswik and his sisters were themselves fond of music. The young count played the cello 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 older sister, Teresa, was especially successful in this. Well, in a few years the composer will start an affair with Josephine, but that’s another story.

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

In general, upon arriving in Vienna, the charming Juliet quickly joined this company. The close connection of her relatives with Beethoven, their sincere friendship and the unconditional recognition of the talent of the young composer in this family one way or another contributed to Juliet’s acquaintance with Ludwig.

However, unfortunately, I cannot name exact date 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 on the Brunswick estate. The point is that Juliet was also in this place at that time, and, therefore, by that time the young people should have already, if not been friends, then at least met. Moreover, already in June the girl moved to Vienna, and, given her close connection with Beethoven’s friends, I very much doubt that the young people really did not meet until 1801.

Other events date back to the end of 1801 - most likely, it was at this time that Juliet takes his first piano lessons from Beethoven, for which, as is known, the teacher did not take money. Beethoven took any attempts to pay for music lessons as a personal insult. It is known that one day Juliet's mother, Suzanne Guicciardi, sent Ludwig shirts as a gift. Beethoven, taking this gift as payment for his daughter’s education (perhaps this was so), wrote a rather emotional letter to his “potential mother-in-law” (January 23, 1802), in which he expressed his indignation and resentment, and made it clear that he was engaged with Juliet not at all for the sake of material reward, and also asked the countess not to do such things again, otherwise he "won't appear in their house again" .

As various biographers note, Beethoven’s new student wouldStro 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 (let me remind you, it was November 16, 1801) she was only seventeen years old. However, apparently, the girl was not particularly worried about the age difference (Beethoven was 30 at the time).

Has Juliet and Ludwig's relationship progressed to a marriage proposal? - Most biographers believe that this really happened, citing mainly the famous Beethoven scholar - Alexandra 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 during several years of stay in Vienna leads to the opinion that Beethoven nevertheless decided to propose marriage to Countess Julia, and that she did not object, 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 parentheses that this note is not a fact based on competent evidence, but his personal conclusion obtained through the analysis of a variety of data. But the fact is that it was precisely this opinion (which I am in no way trying to dispute) of such an authoritative Beethoven scholar as Thayer, which became the most popular in the works 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 means “title”), states, 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 count's title, was far from rich, and the pragmatism of Juliet's father did not allow him to give his beautiful daughter into the hands of a poor musician, whose constant income at that time was only a patronage 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 did not come to a marriage proposal, then the romance of Ludwig and Juliet was still not destined to move to another level.

If in the summer of 1801 young people had a great time in Krompachy * , and in the fall Beethoven sends that same letter, where he tells his old friend about his feelings and shares his dream of marriage, then already in 1802 romantic relationship The relationship between the composer and the young countess is noticeably fading (and, first of all, on the part of the girl, because the composer was still in love with her). * Krompachy is a small town in what is now Slovakia, and at that time it was part of Hungary. The Brunswicks' Hungarian estate was located there, including the gazebo where Beethoven is believed to have worked on the Moonlight Sonata.

The turning point in these relations was the appearance of a third person in them - the young count Wenzel Robert Gallenberg (December 28, 1783 - March 13, 1839), an Austrian amateur composer who, despite the lack of any impressive 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 he was crazy about, and for whom he lived, not only preferred another man to him, but also preferred Gallenberg as a composer.

For Beethoven this was a double blow, because Gallenberg's talent as a composer was so mediocre that it was openly reported in the Viennese press. And even studying with such a wonderful teacher as Albrechtsberger (whom, let me remind you, Beethoven himself had previously studied with), did not contribute to the development of Gallenberg’s musical thinkingniya, as evidenced by the obvious theft (plagiarism) by the young count 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 completely not for Juliet. Previously, the composer had to dedicate a completely different work to this girl (Rondo “G Major”, Opus 51 No. 2), a work much brighter and more cheerful. However, that work technical reasons(completely unrelated to the relationship between Juliet and Ludwig) 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 that same “C-sharp-minor” sonata, the first part of which has a clearly expressed mourning character(yes, exactly “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 the point of legal marriage, which took place on November 3, 1803, and 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 the time being, he staged 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 above-mentioned theater, became the manager of the famous Vienna 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 Beethoven’s death), he himself rented the Kärntnertor Theater. However, by May of the following year the contract was terminated due to Gallenberg's financial difficulties.

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

Why was the sonata called “Moonlight”

As the name was popularized and finally consolidated in German society "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 answering 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 this is for the best, since freedom of opinion is an important part of a modern democratic society) and find only “reliable information " Therefore, we will just try to add to the Internet a little of that very “reliable” information, which, I hope, will help at least a few readers to separate myths from real facts.

The most popular myth on the history of 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 impressed after playing for a blind girl in a room illuminated by moonlight.

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

After all, this seemingly harmless fictional story, popular in the 19th century, never bothered me until I began to notice it on various Internet resources, posted as an illustration supposedly true history origin of "Moonlight Sonata". I have also heard rumors that this story is being used in a "collection of expositions" in school curriculum in the Russian language - which means, given that such beautiful legend can easily be imprinted in the minds of children who may accept this myth as truth, we simply have to add a little authenticity and note that this story is fictional.

Let me clarify: I have nothing against this story, which, in my opinion, is very nice. 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 this myth, where her brother, a shoemaker, was in the room with the composer and the blind girl), now many people consider it real biographical fact, and I cannot allow this.So I just want to point out that famous story about Beethoven and the blind girl is, although cute, but still fictional.

To verify this, it is enough to study any manual on the biography of Beethoven 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 talk 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 the positive or negative attitude of Beethoven himself towards the name “Moonlight Sonata”.

I’ll 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 title “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, to the same “Pathetique” sonata.
• Participants in the “second camp” argued that Beethoven could not have related 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 didn’t even like it), but they were talking about the work itself, and not about its title, which could not have existed during the composer’s lifetime.

I would like to note on my own that the participants in the “second camp” are closest to the truth, but there are also important nuance, which I will talk 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 still 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 point the author of this short story compares the first movement (adagio) of the sonata with the following picture:

By “lake” in the screenshot above we mean lake Lucerne(aka “Firvaldstetskoye”, located in Switzerland), but I borrowed the quote itself from Larisa Kirillina (first volume, page 231), who, in turn, refers to Grundman (pages 53-54).

The description of the Relshtab cited above certainly 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 initially produce a significant take-up in society, and, as noted above, During Beethoven’s lifetime this sonata was still not spoken of as “Moonlight”.

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

Already in 1860, Lenz himself used the term “Moonlight Sonata”, after which this name was 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 origin of its name, you can finally familiarize yourself with it briefly. I warn you right away: carry out a volumetric musical analysis we won’t, because I still won’t be able to do it better than professional musicologists, whose detailed analyzes You can find this work 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 beginning pianists who want to perform this sonata. I note that professional pianist I'm not, but I think that for beginners a couple useful tips I can give it.

So, as noted earlier, this sonata was published under the catalog title "Opus 27, No. 2", and among the thirty-two piano sonatas it 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 share a freer form compared to most other classical sonatas, as the composer’s author’s note openly indicates to us. "Sonata in the manner of fantasy" on title pages both sonatas.

Sonata No. 14 consists of three movements:

1. Slow part "Adagio sostenuto" in C sharp minor
2. Calm "Allegretto" minuet character
3. Stormy and swift « "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 theme and variations, I consider much more revolutionary in terms of form, although this work did not receive the mark “in the manner of fantasy.”

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

“The formula for the structure of Beethoven’s first four-movement sonatas was, as a rule, based on the following template:

• Part 1 - Quick “Allegro”;
• Part 2 - Slow Motion;
• Movement 3 - Minuet or Scherzo;
• Part 4 - The ending is usually quick."

Now imagine what will happen if we cut off the first part of this template and start, as it were, right away with the second. In this case, we will end up with the following three-part sonata template:

• Part 1 - Slow Motion;
• Movement 2 - Minuet or Scherzo;
• Part 3 - The ending is usually quick.

Doesn't remind you of anything? As you can see, the form of the Moonlight Sonata is actually not that revolutionary and is in fact 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 with the second movement?” and turned this idea into reality - it looks exactly like this (at least in my opinion).

Listen to recordings

Now, finally, I suggest you take a closer look at the work. To begin with, I recommend listening to “audio recordings” of the performance of Sonata No. 14 by professional pianists.

Part 1(performed by Evgeny Kisin):

Part 2(performed by Wilhelm Kempff):

Part 3(performed by Yenyo Yando):

Important!

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