Last week I wrote about sonata No. 13 that, for me, it was the true hidden gem of the cycle. The fault for its being a hidden gem lies at least partially with its sister, the incommensurably more popular ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2. The nickname was coined by Ludwig Rellstab, a German poet and influential music critic, some five years after Beethoven’s death, but its colossal popularity certainly dated back to Beethoven’s lifetime. Even without a nickname, the starkly painted landscape of its first movement, the forlorn melody, the quiet grief embodied in the accompanying triplets, the fateful descent of the bass line - all those gripped the imagination of the listeners. A middle movement of exquisite, fragile beauty, and a dark whirlwind of a finale with its rage and despair strengthened the impact that much more. And the fact that the first movement is relatively technically undemanding could only increase the work’s popularity.
Seen as part of Op. 27, the ‘Moonlight’ is like a dark shadow born in the afterglow of No. 13’s light. To No. 13’s myriad of moods it juxtaposes a single-minded unity of colour and expression, concentrated and powerful. It contrasts No. 13’s loosely joined sections with a linear progression of defined, clearly structured movements. And to the wealth of positive, kind and benevolent emotions radiating from No. 13, it answers with a uniquely perceptive exploration of the darker corners of personal feeling.
Years after the publication of the ‘Moonlight’, people were still talking about it, leading Beethoven to grumble to his student Carl Czerny that surely he had written better things! I am not so sure; different things, undoubtedly. But better? If the highest evocative artistry expressed in such a way as to garner universal appeal for over two centuries is our yardstick, then I would say probably not. We are enchanted and entranced by the ‘Moonlight’, we relate to it with a deep part of our soul, and I believe it will continue to touch and affect us for a long time to come.
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Beethoven 32 - Over the year 2020, I will be learning and filming all 32 Beethoven sonatas. Subscribe to this channel to follow the project, and visit beethoven32.com for blog posts and listening guides to each sonata.
Boris Giltburg, piano
Filmed by Stewart French
© 2020 Fly On The Wall, London (fotw.london)
Filmed at Fazioli Concert Hall, Sacile, Italy
‪@FazioliPianos‬