Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (FULL)

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The sonata consists of three movements:

Adagio sostenuto
Allegretto
Presto agitato

Adagio sostenuto

The first movement,[16] in C♯ minor, is written in an approximate truncated sonata form, especially considering the "introduction" function of mm. 1-5.[17] The movement opens with an octave in the left hand and a triplet figuration in the right. A melody that Hector Berlioz called a "lamentation", mostly by the right hand, is played against an accompanying ostinato triplet rhythm, simultaneously played by the right hand. The movement is played pianissimo or "very quietly", and the loudest it gets is mezzo forte or "moderately loud".

Allegretto

The second movement is a relatively conventional scherzo and trio, a moment of relative calm written in D-flat major, the more easily notated enharmonic equivalent of C♯ major, the parallel major of the first movement's key, C♯ minor. Franz Liszt is said to have described the second movement as "a flower between two chasms".[21] The slight majority of the movement is in piano, but a handful of sforzandos and forte-pianos helps to maintain the movement's cheerful disposition.

Presto agitato

The stormy final movement (C♯ minor), in sonata form, is the weightiest of the three, reflecting an experiment of Beethoven's (also carried out in the companion sonata Opus 27, No. 1 and later on in Opus 101), namely, placement of the most important movement of the sonata last. The writing has many fast arpeggios and strongly accented notes, and an effective performance demands lively and skillful playing.

Of the final movement, Charles Rosen has written "it is the most unbridled in its representation of emotion. Even today, two hundred years later, its ferocity is astonishing."[18]

Beethoven's heavy use of sforzando notes, together with just a few strategically located fortissimo passages, creates the sense of a very powerful sound in spite of the predominance of piano markings throughout.

Learn more at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._14_(Beethoven)