Hot Tracks 4/20

The first movement of this instantly recognisable piano sonata starts off quietly to set a calm, delicate and slightly melancholic tone. As the emotions rise and fall, the intensity swells and diminishes gracefully. The Piano Sonata No. 14 op. 27 no. 2 in C sharp minor by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed in 1801, is also known as the Moonlight Sonata. Beethoven himself gave his work the nickname Sonata quasi una Fantasia ("... quasi a fantasy"). The term "Fantasia" refers to the unusual sequence of movements of the sonata. This explains the untypical tempos of the respective movements for the conventional sonata form. The work does not have a first (fast) movement in sonata form, which sonatas of this period usually contain. It begins with an Adagio, followed by a more lively Allegretto with Trio, followed by a fast, highly dramatic Finale, which has the structure of a sonata-form. What is striking here is that the tempo increases from movement to movement. Franz Liszt characterized the piece by describing the second movement as "a flower between two abysses".