The history of the creation of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata": a brief overview. Moonlight Sonata

The heroic-dramatic line by no means exhausts all the many-sidedness of Beethoven's searches in the field of piano sonata. The content of "Lunnaya" is related to something else, lyric-dramatic type.

This work has become one of the composer's most amazing spiritual revelations. In the tragic time of the collapse of love and the irreversible extinction of hearing, he spoke here about himself.

The Moonlight Sonata is one of the works in which Beethoven was looking for new ways to develop the sonata cycle. He named her a fantasy sonata, thus emphasizing the freedom of composition, which deviates far from the traditional scheme. The first movement is slow: the composer abandoned the usual sonata in it. This is Adagio, completely devoid of the figurative-thematic contrasts typical for Beethoven, and thus very far from the first part of the "Pathetique". This is followed by a small Allegretto of minuet character. The sonata form, saturated with extreme drama, is "reserved" for the finale, and it is he who becomes the culmination of the entire work.

The three parts of Lunar are three stages in the process of forming one idea:

• Part I (Adagio) - sorrowful awareness of life's tragedy;
• Part II (Allegretto) - pure joy that suddenly flashed before the mind's eye;
• Part III (Presto) - psychological reaction: emotional storm, burst of violent protest.

That direct, pure, trusting that Allegretto brings with it instantly ignites Beethoven's hero. Having woken up from sorrowful thoughts, he is ready to act, to fight. The last movement of the sonata turns out to be the center of drama. It is precisely here that all the figurative development is directed, and even in Beethoven it is difficult to name another sonata cycle with a similar emotional growth towards the end.

The rebelliousness of the finale, its extreme emotional intensity turns out to be the reverse side of Adagio's silent sorrow. What is concentrated in itself in Adagio breaks out in the finale, it is the release of the internal tension of the first part (the manifestation of the principle of derivative contrast at the level of the ratio of the parts of the cycle).

1 part

V Adagio Beethoven's favorite principle of dialogical opposition gave way to lyrical monologue - the one-theme principle of a solo melody. This speech melody, which "sings, weeping" (Asafiev), is perceived as a tragic confession. Not a single pathetic exclamation violates inner concentration, grief is strict and silent. In the philosophical fullness of Adagio, in the very silence of sorrow, there is a lot in common with the drama of Bach's minor preludes. Like Bach, music is full of internal, psychological movement: the size of phrases is constantly changing, tonal-harmonic development is extremely active (with frequent modulations, intrusive cadences, contrasts of the same modes E - e, h - H). Interval ratios sometimes become pointedly sharp (m.9, b.7). The ostinata pulsation of the triplet accompaniment also originates from Bach's free prelude forms, at times coming to the fore (transition to a reprise). Another textured layer of Adagio is bass, almost passacal, with a measured descending step.

There is something mourning in Adagio - the dotted rhythm, which is confirmed with particular insistence in the conclusion, is perceived as the rhythm of the mourning procession. The form of Adagio Zx-private developmental type.

Part 2

Part II (Allegretto) is part of the Lunar cycle, like a light interlude between the two acts of the drama, contrasting with their tragedy. It is sustained in lively, serene colors, recalling a graceful minuet with a perky dance melody. The minuet is also typical of the complex 3x-particular form with a trio and a reprise da capo. Figuratively, Allegretto is monolithic: the trio brings no contrast. Throughout the Allegretto, Des-dur is preserved, enharmonically equal to Cis-dur, the key of the same name of Adagio.

The final

The extremely tense finale is the central part of the sonata, the dramatic culmination of the cycle. In the ratio of the extreme parts, the principle of derivative contrast was manifested:

• with their tonal unity, the color of the music is sharply different. Muffiness, transparency, "delicacy" of Adagio is opposed by the frantic sound avalanche of Presto, saturated with sharp accents, pathetic exclamations, emotional explosions. At the same time, the extreme emotional intensity of the finale is perceived as the tension of the first part that broke through in all its might;
• the extreme parts are combined with an arpeggiated texture. However, in Adagio, she expressed contemplation, concentration, and in Presto she promotes the embodiment of emotional shock;
• The original thematic core of the main part of the finale is based on the same sounds as the melodious, undulating beginning of Part 1.

The sonata form of the finale of "Lunar" is interesting for the unusual ratio of the main themes: from the very beginning the secondary theme plays the leading role, while the main one is perceived as an improvisational introduction of a toccata character. It is an image of confusion and protest, presented in a rushing stream of surging arpeggio waves, each of which is abruptly cut off by two accented chords. This type of movement comes from prelude improvisational forms. The enrichment of sonata drama with improvisation is observed in the future - in the free cadences of reprise and especially coda.

The melody of the side theme sounds not like a contrast, but like a natural continuation of the main part: the confusion and protest of one theme translates into a passionate, extremely excited statement of the other. The thematicism of the secondary, in comparison with the main, is more individualized. It is based on pathetic, verbally expressive intonations. Accompanied by a side theme, the continuous toccata movement of the main part is preserved. Side key - gis-moll. This tonality is reinforced further in the final theme, in the offensive energy of which the heroic pulse is felt. Thus, the tragic aspect of the finale is revealed already in its tonal plane (the exclusive dominance of the minor key).

The dominant role of the collateral is also emphasized in the development, which is almost exclusively based on one theme. It has 3 sections:

• Introductory: This is a short, total of 6 bars, conduction of the main theme.
• central: the development of a side theme that takes place in different keys and registers, mainly in the low one.
• great prerequisite prediction.

The role of the climax of the entire sonata is played by code exceeding development in scope. In the code, similar to the beginning of development, the image of the main party appears fleetingly, the development of which leads to a two-fold "explosion" on a reduced seventh chord. And again there is a side theme. Such a stubborn return to one topic is perceived as an obsession with one idea, as the inability to move away from overwhelming feelings.

Juliet Guicciardi ... a woman whose portrait Ludwig van Beethoven kept along with the Heiligenstadt Testament and an unsent letter addressed to the Immortal Beloved (and it is possible that this mysterious lover was her).

In 1800, Juliet was eighteen years old, and Beethoven gave lessons to a young aristocrat - but the communication of these two soon went beyond the relationship between teacher and student: “It became more joyful for me to live ... This change was made by the charm of one sweet girl,” the composer admits in a letter to friend, associating with Juliet "the first happy minutes in the last two years." In the summer of 1801, which Beethoven spends with Juliet on the estate of her relatives Brunswick, he no longer doubts that he is loved, that happiness is possible - even the noble origin of the chosen one did not seem to him an insurmountable obstacle ...

But the girl's imagination was captured by Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg - an aristocrat composer, far from the most significant figure in the music of his era, but the young Countess Guicciardi considered him a genius, which she did not hesitate to tell her teacher about. This infuriated Beethoven, and soon Juliet informed him in a letter of her decision to leave “from a genius who had already won, to a genius who was still fighting for recognition” ... Juliet's marriage with Gallenberg was not particularly happy, and she met Beethoven again in 1821 - Juliet turned to her former lover with a request for ... financial assistance. “She harassed me in tears, but I despised her,” - this is how Beethoven described this meeting, however, he kept the portrait of this woman ... But all this will come later, and then the composer was very upset by this blow of fate. Love for Juliet Guicciardi did not make him happy, but gave the world one of the most beautiful works of Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor.

The sonata is known under the title "Moonlight". The composer himself did not give it such a name - it stuck with the work with the light hand of the German writer and music critic Ludwig Rellstab, who saw in the first part of it "moonlight over Lake Lucerne". Paradoxically, this name stuck, although it met with a lot of objections - in particular, Anton Rubinstein argued that the tragedy of the first movement and the violent feelings of the finale do not correspond at all to the melancholy and “gentle light” of the moonlit night landscape.

Sonata No. 14 was published in 1802 together with. Both works were identified by the author as "Sonata quasi una Fantasia". This implied a departure from the traditional, established structure of the sonata cycle, built according to the principle of contrast “fast - slow - fast”. The Fourteenth Sonata develops linearly - from slow to fast.

The first movement - Adagio sostenuto - is written in a form that combines features of two-part and sonata. The main theme seems extremely simple when viewed in isolation - but the persistent repetition of the fifth tone gives it exceptional emotional tension. This feeling is enhanced by the triplet figuration, against the background of which the entire first movement passes - like an obsessive thought. The bass voice on the rhythm almost coincides with the melodic line, thereby strengthening it, giving significance. These elements develop in the change of harmonic color, the comparison of registers, representing a whole gamut of feelings: sadness, a bright dream, determination, "deadly despondency" - as Alexander Serov aptly put it.

Music Seasons

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Ludwig van Beethoven
Moonlight Sonata

It happened in 1801. The gloomy and unsociable composer fell in love. Who is she, who conquered the heart of the genius creator? Sweet, spring-like beautiful, with an angelic face and a divine smile, eyes in which I 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. Juliet Guicciardi became his chosen one. Rejecting Beethoven, the inspirer of the Moonlight Sonata married a mediocre musician, the young Count Gallenberg, and went with him to Italy.

The Moonlight Sonata was supposed to be the engagement gift with which Beethoven hoped to convince Juliet Guicciardi to accept his marriage proposal. However, the composers' matrimonial hopes had nothing to do with the birth of the sonata. Moonlight was one of two sonatas published under the general title Opus 27, both composed in the summer of 1801, the same year that Beethoven wrote his agitated and tragic letter to his school friend Franz Wegeler in Bonn and admitted for the first time that he had hearing problems began.

The Moonlight Sonata was originally called the Garden Gazebo Sonata; after publication, Beethoven gave it and the second sonata a general definition of Quasi una Fantasia (which can be translated as Fantasy Sonata); this gives us a clue to understanding the composer's mood at that time. Beethoven desperately wanted to distract himself from thoughts of impending deafness, at the same time he met and fell in love with his student Juliet. The famous name "Lunnaya" arose almost by accident, it was given to the sonata by the German novelist, playwright and music critic Ludwig Rellstab.

A German poet, novelist and music critic, Rellstab met Beethoven in Vienna shortly before the composer's death. He sent Beethoven some of his poems, in the hope that he would put them to music. Beethoven scanned the poems and even noted several of them; but did not have time to do anything else. During the posthumous performance of Beethoven's works, Rellstab heard Opus 27 No. 2, and in his article he enthusiastically noted that the beginning of the sonata reminds him of the play of moonlight on the surface of Lake Lucerne. Since then, this work has received the name "Moonlight Sonata".

The first movement of the sonata is undoubtedly one of Beethoven's most famous works for piano. This passage shared the fate of To Eliza and became a favorite work of amateur pianists for the simple reason that they can perform it without much difficulty (of course, if they do it slowly enough).
This is slow and dark music, and Beethoven specifically points out that the damper pedal should not be used here, as each note of this part should be clearly separated.

But there is one oddity here. Despite the worldwide fame of this piece and the widespread recognition of its first bars, if you try to hum it or whistle it, you will almost certainly fail: you will find that it is almost impossible to catch the melody. And this is not the only case. This is a characteristic feature of Beethoven's music: he could create incredibly popular pieces that lack melody. Such works include the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, as well as the equally famous fragment of the Fifth Symphony.

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

We have not received any evidence that Juliet Guicciardi ever played a sonata dedicated to her, most likely this work disappointed her. The gloomy beginning of the sonata did not in the least 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 dignified honesty, told the researchers of Beethoven's life that the great composer did not think about her at all when creating his masterpiece. Guicciardi's testimony increases the likelihood that Beethoven composed both Opus 27 sonatas, as well as the Opus 29 String Quintet, in an attempt to somehow reconcile with the impending deafness. This is also indicated by the fact that in November 1801, that is, a few months after the previous letter and the writing of the Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven mentions in a letter about Juliet Guicciardi, a “charming girl” who loves me and whom I love ".

Beethoven himself was irritated by the unheard-of popularity of his Moonlight Sonata. “Everyone is just talking about the C sharp minor sonata! I wrote the best things! ”He once said angrily to his disciple Czerny.

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 hour Symph. orc, mp3;
3. Accompanying article, docx.

The creator of the "Moonlight Sonata" called it "a sonata in the spirit of fantasy." She was inspired by a mixture of romance, tenderness and sadness. To the sadness was mingled with the despair of the approach of the inevitable ... and uncertainty.

What was it like for Beethoven when he composed the fourteenth sonata? On the one hand, he was in love with his charming student, Juliet Guichardi, and even made plans for a joint future. On the other hand ... he understood that he was developing deafness. But for a musician, hearing loss is almost worse than loss of sight!

Where did the word “moon” come from in the title of the sonata?

According to some reports, it was named after the death of the composer by his friend Ludwig Rellshtab. According to others (who knows how, but I am inclined to trust school textbooks) - she was called that only because there was a fashion for everything "lunar". More precisely, the "lunar designations".

This is how prosaically the title of one of the most magical works of the Great Composer appeared.

Heavy forebodings

Everyone has their own holy of holies. And, as a rule, this most intimate place is where the author creates. Beethoven in his holy of holies not only composed music, but also ate, slept, pardon the detail, defecated. In short, he had a very peculiar relationship with the piano: on top of it there were a heap of notes, and on the bottom there was an empty chamber pot. More precisely, the notes were scattered about wherever you can imagine, including on the piano. The maestro did not differ in accuracy.

Is anyone else surprised that he was rejected by a girl with whom he had the imprudence to fall in love? I, of course, understand that he was the Great Composer ... but if I were in her place, I would not have resisted either.

Or maybe it's for the best? After all, if that lady had made him happy with her attention, then she would have taken the place of the piano ... And then it remains only to guess how it would have ended. But it was to Countess Juliet Guichardi that he dedicated one of the greatest works of that time.

At thirty, Beethoven had every reason to be happy. He was a recognized and successful composer who was popular with aristocrats. He was a great virtuoso, who was not spoiled by even not so hot manners (oh, and you can feel the influence of Mozart here! ..).

But his good mood was pretty spoiled by the presentiment of trouble: his hearing was gradually fading away. For several years now, Ludwig had noticed that his hearing was getting worse and worse. What caused this? It is hidden by the veil of time.

He was tormented by noise in his ears both day and night. He could hardly distinguish the words of the speakers, and in order to distinguish the sounds of the orchestra, he had to stand closer and closer.

And at the same time, the composer was hiding the ailment. He had to suffer in silence and imperceptibly, which could not add any particular cheerfulness. Therefore, what others saw was only a game, a skillful game for the audience.

But suddenly something happened that confused the soul of the musician much more ...

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

• Page 1:
• Introduction. The phenomenon of the popularity of this work
• Why was the sonata called "Moonlight" (the myth of Beethoven and the "blind girl", the real history of the name)
• General characteristics of the "Moonlight Sonata" (a short description of the work with the ability 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 greet everyone who is fond of Beethoven's work! My name is Yuri Vanyan and I am the editor of the site you are currently visiting. For more than a year now, I have been publishing detailed and sometimes small introductory articles about a variety of works by the great composer.

However, to my shame, the frequency of publication of new articles on our site has dropped dramatically due to my personal employment recently, which I promise to fix in the near future (I will probably have to involve other authors). But I am even more ashamed that so far not a single article has been published on this resource about the "visiting card" of Beethoven's work - the famous "Moonlight Sonata". In today's issue, I will finally try to fill this significant gap.

The phenomenon of the popularity of this work

I did not name the work just like that "Business card" composer, because for most people, especially for those who are far from classical music, the name of one of the most influential composers of all times is primarily associated with the Moonlight Sonata.

The popularity of this piano sonata has reached incredible heights! Even right now, while typing this text, I just asked myself for a second: "What works of Beethoven could outshine Lunnaya 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 only one search line of the Yandex network, the phrase "Beethoven Moonlight Sonata" was mentioned in various declensions more 35 thousand once. So that you can roughly understand how large this number is, below I will present the monthly statistics of requests, but for other well-known works of the composer (the 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 "Lunnaya" significantly exceeds the popularity of other equally outstanding works of Beethoven. Only the famous "Fifth Symphony" came closest to the mark of 35 thousand requests per month. It should be noted that the popularity of the sonata was already at its height. during the life of the composer, about which Beethoven himself even complained to his student, Karl Cerny.

Indeed, according to Beethoven, among his creations were much more outstanding works, in which I personally absolutely agree. In particular, it remains a mystery to me why, for example, the same "Ninth Symphony" on the Internet is much less popular than the "Moonlight Sonata".

I wonder what kind of data we get if we compare the above-mentioned frequency of requests with the most famous works others great composers? Let's check, since we have already started:

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

As you can see, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find a competitor to the Moonlight Sonata in the Russian-speaking audience of Yandex. I think the situation abroad is not very different either!

One can talk endlessly about the popularity of "Lunnaya". Therefore, I promise that this issue will not be the only one, and from time to time we will supplement 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 novice pianists wishing 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 the year that Beethoven sent to his old friend - Wegeler(more about this episode of the biography :).

In the same letter, the composer complained to Wegeler about the dubious and unpleasant methods of treatment prescribed for him by the attending physician to prevent hearing loss (let me remind you that Beethoven by that time was not yet completely deaf, 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 "A sweet and charming girl whom he loves and who loves him" ... But then Beethoven makes it clear that this girl is above him in social status, which means that he needs "Actively act" to be able to marry her.

Under the word "act" I understand, first of all, Beethoven's desire to overcome the developing deafness as quickly as possible and, consequently, to significantly improve the financial situation through more intense creativity and touring. Thus, it seems to me, the composer tried to achieve marriage with a girl from an aristocratic family.

Indeed, even despite the fact that the young composer does not have any title, fame and money could equalize his chances of marrying a young countess in comparison with some potential competitor from a noble family (at least that is how, in my opinion, reasoned young composer).

Who is the Moonlight Sonata dedicated to?

The girl mentioned above was a young countess by name - the piano sonata Opus 27, No. 2, which we now know as the Moonlight Sonata, was dedicated to her.

I'll tell you in a nutshell about biographies this girl, although very little is known about her. So, Countess Juliet Guicciardi was born on November 23, 1782 (and not 1784, as they often mistakenly write) in the town Přemysl(at that time was a member of Kingdoms of Galicia and Lodomeria, and now located in Poland) in the family of the Italian count Francesco Giuseppe Guicciardi and Suzanne Guicciardi.

I do not know about the biographical details of the childhood and early youth of this girl, but it is known that in 1800 Juliet moved with her family from Trieste, Italy to Vienna. In those days, Beethoven was in close contact with the young Hungarian count. Franz Brunswick and his sisters - Teresa, Josephine and Carolina(By Charlotte).

Beethoven was very fond of this family, because, despite their high social status and decent material condition, the young count and his sisters were not too "spoiled" by the luxury of aristocratic life, but on the contrary, they communicated with the young and far from wealthy composer absolutely on equal terms, 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 well-known as a composer.

Moreover, Franz Brunswick and his sisters were into music themselves. The young count played the cello well, and to his older sisters, Theresa and Josephine, Beethoven taught piano lessons himself, 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, with Josephine, the composer will start a romance in a few years, but that's another story.

We'll talk about the members of the Brunswick family sometime in separate issues. Here I mentioned them only for the reason that it was through the Brunswick family that the young Countess Juliet Guicciardi met Beethoven, since Juliet's mother, Suzanne Guicciardi (Brunswick's maiden name), was the aunt of Franz and his sisters. Well, Juliet, therefore, was their cousin.

In general, having arrived in Vienna, the charming Juliet quickly joined this company. The close relationship of her relatives with Beethoven, their sincere friendship and unconditional recognition of the talent of the young composer in this family somehow contributed to Juliet's acquaintance with Ludwig.

However, unfortunately, I cannot name the exact date of 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 at the Brunswick estate. The bottom line is that at that time Juliet was also in this place, and, therefore, by that time, young people should have, if not be friends, then at least get to know each other. Moreover, in June the girl moved to Vienna, and, given her close relationship with Beethoven's friends, I very much doubt that young people really did not intersect until 1801.

By the end of 1801, other events are related - most likely, it was at this time that Juliet takes Beethoven's first piano lessons, for which, as you know, the teacher did not take money. Beethoven took any attempts to pay for music lessons as a personal insult. It is known that once Juliet's mother, Suzanne Guicciardi, sent Ludwig shirts as a gift. Beethoven, taking this gift as payment for his daughter's education (perhaps it was), wrote his "potential mother-in-law" a rather emotional letter (January 23, 1802), in which he expressed his indignation and resentment, made it clear that he was studying with Juliet not at all for the sake of material incentives, and also asked the countess not to commit such acts anymore, otherwise he "Will no longer appear in their house" .

As various biographers point out, Beethoven's new student wouldstrut attracts him with its beauty, charm and talent (remember that beautiful and talented pianists were one of Beethoven's most pronounced weaknesses). Moreover, withit is read that this sympathy was mutual, and later turned into a fairly strong novel. It is worth noting that Juliet was much younger than Beethoven - at the time the aforementioned letter was sent to Wegeler (remember, it was November 16, 1801) she was only seventeen years old without a week. However, apparently, the age difference (Beethoven was then 30) did not really bother the girl.

Did the relationship between Juliet and Ludwig come to a marriage proposal? - Most biographers believe that this really happened, referring mainly to the famous Beethoven scholar - Alexander Wheelock Thayer... I quote the latter (the translation is not accurate, but approximate):

A careful analysis and comparison of both published data and personal habits and hints received over several years in Vienna suggest that Beethoven nevertheless decided to propose to Countess Julia, and that she did not mind, and that one parent agreed to this marriage, but the other parent, probably the father, expressed his refusal.

(A.U. 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 in the course of analyzing a variety of data. But the fact is that it is this opinion (which I am by no means trying to dispute) of such an authoritative Beethoven scholar as Thayer that became the most popular in the writings of other biographers.

Thayer further emphasized that the refusal of the second parent (father) was primarily associated with Beethoven's lack of any rank (probably means "title"), fortune, permanent position etc. Basically, if Thayer's guess is correct, then Juliet's father can be understood! After all, the Guicciardi family, despite the title of count, was far from rich, and the pragmatism of Juliet's father did not allow him to give his beautiful daughter into the hands of an indigent musician, whose constant income at that time was only a patron's allowance of 600 florins a year (and that, thanks to Prince Likhnovsky).

One way or another, even if Thayer's assumption was inaccurate (which, however, I doubt), and the matter did not come to a marriage proposal, the romance of Ludwig and Juliet was still not destined to move to another level.

If in the summer of 1801 young people were having a great time in Krompachy * , and in the fall Beethoven sends the same letter where he tells an old friend about his feelings and shares his dream of marriage, then already in 1802 the romantic relationship between the composer and the young countess noticeably fade away (and, first of all, from the girl's side, because the composer is still was in love with her). * Krompachy is a small town in present-day Slovakia, but at that time it was part of Hungary. It housed the Brunswik estate in Hungary, 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 - a young count Wenzel Robert Gallenberg (December 28, 1783 - March 13, 1839), an Austrian amateur composer, who, despite the absence of any impressive fortune, was able to attract the attention of the young and frivolous Juliet and, thus, became a rival of 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 composing talent was so mediocre that it was openly written about in the Viennese press. And even learning from such a wonderful teacher as Albrechtsberger (from whom, I recall, Beethoven himself had previously studied), did not contribute to the development of musical thinking in Gallenbergniya, as evidenced by the explicit theft (plagiarism) by the young count of 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, dedicated to Juliet Guicciardi.

It is important to note that Beethoven composed this work completely not for Juliet... Earlier, the composer had to devote a completely different work to this girl (Rondo "G major", Opus 51 No. 2), the work is much brighter and more cheerful. However, for technical reasons (completely unrelated to the relationship between Juliet and Ludwig), that work had to be dedicated to Princess Likhnovskaya.

Well, now, when again “Juliet's turn has come”, this time Beethoven dedicates to the girl a completely not cheerful work (in memory of the happy summer of 1801, jointly spent in Hungary), but that very “C sharp minor” sonata, the first part of which has an explicit mourning character(yes, it is "mourning", but not "romantic", as many 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 a legal marriage, which took place on November 3, 1803, but in the spring of 1806 the couple moved to Italy (more precisely, to Naples), where Gallenberg continues to compose his music and even what At that time, he staged ballets in the theater at the court of Joseph Bonaparte (the elder brother of the 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 Barbaya, who directed the aforementioned theater, became the manager of the famous Viennese theater with a difficult to pronounce name "Kerntnertor"(it was there that the final version 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 musical archives. Well, since January 1829 (that is, after Beethoven's death) he rented the Kärntnertor Theater himself. However, by May of the following year, the contract was terminated due to financial difficulties with Gallenberg.

There is evidence that Juliet, who moved to Vienna with her husband, who had serious financial problems, dared to ask Beethoven for 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 cannot say who it was). Beethoven himself let this out 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 Internet age, these myths can sometimes be interpreted as real sources that answer the questions of certain netizens.

Due to the technical and regulatory peculiarities of using the network, we cannot filter from the Internet “incorrect” information that misleads readers (perhaps this is for the best, because freedom of opinion is an important part of a modern democratic society) and find only “reliable information ". Therefore, we will only try to add to the Internet a little of the same "reliable" information, which, I hope, will help at least a few readers to separate myths from real facts.

The most popular myth about the origin story of the Moonlight Sonata (both the work and its title) is a good old anecdote, according to which Beethoven supposedly composed this sonata, being impressed after playing for a blind girl in a room sanctified by moonlight.

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

After all, this seemingly harmless fictional story, popular in the 19th century, never bothered me until the moment I began to notice it on various Internet resources, allegedly posted as an illustration true story the origin of the "Moonlight Sonata". I have also heard rumors that this story is used in a "collection of statements" in the school curriculum for the Russian language - which means that, given that such a beautiful legend can easily be imprinted on children's minds, which can take this myth for truth, we simply have to make a little credibility and note that this story is fictional.

Let me explain: 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 of this myth, where her brother, a shoemaker, was in the room with the composer and the blind girl), now many people consider it a real biographical fact, and this I cannot admit.Therefore, I just want to note that the famous story about Beethoven and the blind girl is, though cute, but still fictional.

To verify this, it is enough to study any textbook on Beethoven's biography and make sure that the composer composed this sonata at the age of thirty, while in Hungary (probably partly in Vienna), and in the aforementioned anecdote, the action takes place in Bonn, a city that the composer finally left. at the age of 21, when there could be 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 name?

Another myth associated with the title of Piano Sonata No. 14 is the positive or negative attitude of Beethoven himself towards the title "Moonlight Sonata".

I explain what it is 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. ”Moreover, other participants who answered this question, as a rule , were divided into two camps.

• The participants of the "first" answered, they say, Beethoven did not like the given name, in contrast, for example, from the same "Pathetique" sonata.
• The participants in the "second camp" argued that Beethoven could not relate to the name "Moonlight Sonata" or, even more, "Moonlight Sonata", since these names occurred 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 already during Beethoven's life (the composer did not even like it), but it was about the work itself, and not about its name, which could not have been during the composer's life.

On my own behalf, I note that the participants in the "second camp" are closest to the truth, but there is also an important nuance here, which I will tell about in the next paragraph.

Who came up with the name?

The above-mentioned "nuance" is the fact that in fact the first connection between the movement of the "first movement" of the sonata and the moonlight was nevertheless drawn during Beethoven's lifetime, namely in 1823, and not in 1832, as they usually say.

It's about the product "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:

The "lake" in the above screenshot means the lake Lucerne(it is "Firwaldstet", located in Switzerland), but the quote itself I borrowed from Larisa Kirillina (first volume, page 231), which, in turn, refers to Grundman (pages 53-54).

Relshtab's description cited above certainly gave first prerequisites to popularize the associations of the first movement of the sonata with lunar landscapes. However, in fairness, it should be noted that these associations at first did not make a significant pickup 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 root in society already from 1852, when the famous music critic suddenly recalled Relshtab's words. Wilhelm von Lenz(who referred to the very associations with "lunar landscapes on the lake", but, apparently, mistakenly named the date not 1823, but 1832), after which a new wave of propaganda of Röllshtab associations began in the musical society and, as a result, gradual formation of the now well-known name.

Already in 1860 Lenz himself used the term "Moonlight Sonata", after which this name was finally consolidated and used both in the press and in folklore, and, as a result, in society.

A Brief Description of the Moonlight Sonata

And now, knowing the history of the creation of the work and the origin of its name, you can finally get to know it briefly. I warn you right away: we will not carry out a voluminous musical analysis, because I still cannot do it better than professional musicologists, whose detailed analyzes of this work can be found 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 aspiring pianists wishing to perform this sonata. Note that I am not a professional pianist, but I think I can give a couple of useful tips for beginners.

So, as noted earlier, this sonata was published under the catalog title "Opus 27, no. 2", and among thirty-two piano sonatas it is "fourteenth". Let me remind you that the "thirteenth" piano sonata (Opus 27, no. 1) was published under the same opus.

Both of these sonatas are united by a more free form in comparison with most other classical sonatas, which is clearly indicated by the author's mark of the composer "Sonata in the manner of fantasy" on the title pages of both sonatas.

Sonata No. 14 consists of three parts:

1. Slow part "Adagio sostenuto" in C sharp minor
2. Calm "Allegretto" minuet character
3. Stormy and impetuous « 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 theme and variations are used in the first movement, I consider to be 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 "" issue. I quote:

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

• Part 1 - Fast "Allegro";
• Part 2 - Slow motion;
• Part 3 - Minuet or Scherzo;
• Part 4 - Finals are usually quick. "

Now imagine what would happen if we cut off the first part in this template and start, as it were, with the second. In this case, we have the following three-part sonata template:

• Part 1 - Slow motion;
• Part 2 - Minuet or Scherzo;
• Part 3 - Finals are usually quick.

Doesn't it look like anything? As you can see, the form of the Moonlight Sonata is actually not so revolutionary and in fact is very similar to the form of the very first Beethoven sonatas.

It just feels like Beethoven, while composing this piece, simply decided: "Why don't I start the sonata right away from the second movement?" and turned this idea into reality - it looks like this (at least in my opinion).

Listen to recordings

Now, finally, I propose to take a closer look at the work. To begin with, I recommend listening to "audio recordings" of Sonata No. 14 performed by professional pianists.

Part 1(performed by Evgeny Kissin):

Part 2(performed by Wilhelm Kempf):

Part 3(performed by Yenyo Yando):

Important!

On next page we will look at each part of the Moonlight Sonata, where I will comment on it along the way.