Ludwig van Beethoven Haga clic para modificar el estilo de subtítulo del patrón María Sobrón Jorge 3º E.S.O. - B y la sonata Claro de Luna
Beethoven Beethoven was a XIXth century German composer, conductor and pianist. His musical legacy goes from the classical period to the beginning of musical Romanticism. It is one of the most important composers in the history of music and his legacy has had a decisive influence on later music. He was the first and the father of the Romanticism in music.
Masterpieces His musical production includes pianistic genres (thirty-two sonatas for piano), chamber music (sixteen string quartets, seven trios, ten sonatas for violin and piano), vocal music (lieder and opera, Fidelio), concerts (five piano concertos and orchestra, one for violin and orchestra) and orchestral music: his famous nine symphonies, overtures, etc
Masterpieces Among his nine symphonies, there are masterpieces like the Third Symphony, also called Eroica, the Fifth Symphony in C minor and the Ninth Symphony in D minor. The fourth movement of this symphonie is based on the Ode to Joy, written by Friedrich von Schiller in 1785 and is now the European anthem.
He also wrote very known musical pieces like: To Elise Moonlight Sonata Septimino (used in the cartoon series Once upon a time Man )
Sonata Nº 14, Moonlight I will talk about piano sonata Nº. 14, also called Moonlight, because I think it expresses very well what is the Romanticism in music and it s one of the best known pieces from Beethoven.
Sonata Nº 14, Moonlight The Piano Sonata Nº. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, nº 2 was called by Beethoven "Quasi una fantasia. It s known as Moonlight, but this name wasn t given to the Sonata by Beethoven and this name was used after Beethoven s death
Sonata Nº 14, Moonlight It was composed in 1801 and it was dedicated to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. Some people said Beethoven was in love with her. There is also a romantic legend about how Beethoven wrote this piece
Legend of the Sonata It is said that one night, Beethoven and a friend were walking down the oldest and poorest streets of Bonn, and they were surprised to listen some music from one of the houses. Beethoven entered the house and saw in a very poor house a blind girl playing the piano
Legend of the Sonata Beethoven asked the girl where she has learned to play and she replied that she had once lived next to a woman who was studying music, and who spent a lot of time playing the pieces of a great master, Beethoven. She had learned to play many pieces of Beethoven only listening to them!
Legend of the Sonata Then, Beethoven started to play the piano and the girl inmediatly recognized the music and asked him in tears if he was the famous composer. Beethoven answered: Yes, I ll play for you. Then the lights turned off and Beethoven opened the window and continued playing at the moon light. Then, he said I ll improvise a sonata to the moonlight.
Structure The sonata has three movements: Adagio sostenuto Allegretto Presto agitato
First Movement: Adagio The first movement is writen in pianissimo. It sounds sad and mysterious. Its melody is the most known part of the sonata. French composer Hector Berlioz said it was like a lament and also said The adagio is one of those poems that human language fails to define. It expresses very well some of the topics and feelings of the Romanticism: sadness, melancholy, pain, darkness, night
Second Movement: Allegretto The second movement is a classic minuet. It s the less kown part of the sonata and it s like a simple dance movement. Another Romantic composer, Franz Liszt, said: It s like a flower between two abysses, trying to express the great difference between this movement ant the two others.
Third Movement: Presto agitato This movement is written in sonata form. The themes of the sonata are played very fast and strong and contrast with the two previous movements. It s very difficult to play. It s like a struggle of the themes, as if they were involved in a big storm. This movement also expresses very well the characteristics of romanticism: drama, passion, struggle, movement, fury, distress Some said it was like furious wind bursts
I think listening to this sonata you can not only enjoy music, but learning some of the features of the Romanticism in music.