Sheet Music: Moonlight Sonata

TitleMoonlight Sonata
Alternate titlesPiano Sonata No. 14 “Quasi una fantasia”
Opus numberOp. 27, No. 2
ComposerLudwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
InstrumentationFlute and Piano
KeyC-sharp minor
RangeB#3–E6
Time signature4/4
Tempo44 BPM
Performance time6:20
Difficulty levelintermediate
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (122 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (5.3 MB)
Play-along accompanimentMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (5.3 MB)
Date added2009-09-05
Last updated2009-09-05
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 6.7 (very popular)
Categories
Funeral music, Nocturnes, Romantic, Sonatas

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Saturday 5 September 2009

Tune of the Day: Moonlight Sonata

Piano Sonata No. 14 by Ludwig van Beethoven, transcribed for Flute and Piano

The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia”, Op. 27, No. 2, is popularly known as the “Moonlight” Sonata (Mondscheinsonate in German), name deriving from an 1832 description of the first movement by music critic Ludwig Rellstab, who compared it to moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne, in Switzerland. The work was completed in 1801, and rumored to be dedicated to Beethoven's pupil, 17-year-old Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, with whom Beethoven was, or had been, in love.

On the other hand, according to a popular (but apparently groundless) anecdote that circulated in the 19th century, Beethoven wrote the sonata when playing the piano for a blind girl at night. Thus the sonata was called “Moonlight”. This anecdote was particularly popular at the end of the 19th century and was a frequent topic for painters and graphic artists.

The first and best-known movement, marked Adagio sostenuto, is based on an accompanying motif in triplet rhythm that, together with an accented notes motif, creates the impression of a grave, meditative state of mind.