The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op.27, No. 2, popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata
There is a reason why it's so famous, and that's because it sounds like a profound
meditation of the soul. It captures listener's imaginations like few other pieces of music! The legend is that Beethoven was first inspired to write his moonlight sonata whilst visiting a lake in Hungary.
The name "Moonlight" Sonata derives from an 1832 description of the first movement by music critic Ludwig Rellstab, who compared it to moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne. The Moonlight Sonata was composed in the summer of 1801 in Hungary, on an estate belonging to the Brunswick family.
The title “Moonlight” sonata makes it sound like this is a rather romantic sonata, and people have speculated that it was meant as a sort of love song to Giulietta Guicciardi, Beethoven’s 17-year old piano student who he dedicated the piece to.
Challenge: Post your favorite youtube video performance of the Moonlight Sonata.
Why video, not an album? Thought we'd try something different and not everyone is still streaming so may not be able to pull up the album that you are suggesting. Besides, a visual can often be even more powerful than just music.
To many the Moonlight Sonata is very familiar, to some it may be a new direction in music!
Let's give it a try as an experiment?
Let's see what we come up with!