Moonlight Sonata: Reflecting on Beethoven's Masterpiece

I chose Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, III movement. The original title for Moonlight Sonata is “Piano Sonata no. 14 in C# minor, op. 27 no. 2”. It was written in 1801. It wasn’t initially called “Moonlight Sonata” – Beethoven first named it in Italian, “Sonata quasi una fantasia”, which translates to “Sonata almost like a fantasy”.

This specific version of the sonata was performed by Georgi Cherkin. He is a famous pianist and songwriter from Sofia, Bulgaria. He is known for his renditions of Beethoven. Georgi Cherkin has been composing & orchestrating music for symphonic orchestra by the age of six years. He has made numerous orchestras based off of famous piano pieces. Some examples would be: Für Elise by Beethoven, The Moonlight Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven), The Seasons (Tchaikovsky), and The Turkish March from Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart). All these pieces were performed in a World Premiere with Classic FM Orchestra in 'Bulgaria Hall' with Live TV & Radio broadcasting.

This is a typical Classical-era genre symphony. Sonatas are mostly 3-4 movements long. Beethoven being Beethoven made some tempo changes. Sonatas are fast-slow-fast; with the slow movement being in the middle. But Beethoven goes slow-medium-fast in this sonata, which was very unusual. It was a testament to his rule-breaking. Almost similarly to what he believed: he viewed music not as entertainment, but a moral force.

In this specific piece, Georgii has an orchestra with instruments like the piano (sustain pedal; played by himself), violins, cellos, trombones, french horns, and etc. This piece is in sonata form aka sonata allegro; which means ternary form (ABA form). This would also mean that this symphony is a triple movement. Its musical texture is dark and filled with excitement (as the music is intense yet so loud). There were some articles that had mentioned that the shady and dark sensations were due to the fact that it was probably around this time where Beethoven became hard of hearing. The movement III could be described as ferocious, powerful and passionate. The tempo for the third movement is presto.

I like the rush I feel while listening to this sonata. I feel like Beethoven was trying to convey the message of how he was losing his hearing at a fast pace, yet he was trying to hear the music, hence the loudness of the notes. The dynamics were intensified, as if he were trying to hear the last bits of music he could (before he went completely deaf). If comparing the rush of the piano keys to any one of my memories/experiences, I remember watching Tom and Jerry has a child. Tom would act as a prompter and Jerry would try to ruin the opera/orchestra. The running of the keys are similar to an intense rush of adrenaline, one can’t stop. I enjoyed doing this assignment. I never thought I could relate my feelings and memories to classical music. This has been a wonderful experience.