Beethoven never called it the Moonlight Sonata. He called it Sonata quasi una fantasia, a sonata in the manner of a fantasy. The name that made it famous came from someone else, years after he died.
A sonata that breaks the rules
Beethoven wrote the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, in 1801. Sonatas of his time usually opened with a fast movement. This one opens with a slow, quiet movement of rippling triplets and a melody that barely moves, then grows through a gentle second movement to a stormy finale.
The countess
Beethoven dedicated the sonata to Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, his young piano student, with whom he was in love around that time. She later married someone else.
Where the moonlight came from
In 1832, five years after Beethoven's death, the German critic and poet Ludwig Rellstab wrote that the first movement reminded him of moonlight on Lake Lucerne. The image stuck, publishers used it, and today almost nobody knows the sonata by any other name.
A reading challenge
C sharp minor has four sharps, and the first movement adds many more accidentals as the harmony drifts. It is slow, so it looks easy, but readers stop constantly to check which notes are black keys. In iCanPiano Style every black key shows in the note, and the sonata reads like the calm music it is.
- F sharp: right half black. Play the black key to the right of F.
- B flat: left half black. Play the black key to the left of B.
- B natural: no natural sign. A note that is all black or all white is played on a white key.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called the Moonlight Sonata?
Because in 1832 the critic Ludwig Rellstab compared the first movement to moonlight on Lake Lucerne. Beethoven did not choose the name.
Who was the Moonlight Sonata dedicated to?
To Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, Beethoven's young piano student.
Is the Moonlight Sonata hard to play?
The first movement is intermediate and slow, but full of sharps. The third movement is advanced.