At the very end of the 18th century, Ludwig van Beethoven was in his prime, he was incredibly popular, led an active social life, he could rightfully be called the idol of the youth of that time. But one circumstance began to overshadow the life of the composer - gradually fading hearing. “I drag out a bitter existence,” Beethoven wrote to his friend. “I am deaf. With my craft, nothing can be more terrible ... Oh, if I got rid of this disease, I would embrace the whole world. In 1800, Beethoven met the Guicciardi aristocrats who had come from Italy to Vienna. The daughter of a respectable family, sixteen-year-old Juliet, had good musical abilities and wished to take piano lessons from the idol of the Viennese aristocracy. Beethoven does not take payment from the young countess, and she in turn gives him a dozen shirts that she sewed herself. Beethoven was a strict teacher. When he didn’t like Juliet’s playing, he was annoyed and threw notes on the floor, defiantly turned away from the girl, and she silently collected notebooks from the floor. Juliette was pretty, young, outgoing and flirtatious with her 30-year-old teacher. And Beethoven succumbed to her charm. “Now I am more often in society, and therefore my life has become more cheerful,” he wrote to Franz Wegeler in November 1800. - This change was made in me by a sweet, charming girl who loves me, and whom I love. I again have bright moments, and I come to the conclusion that marriage can make a person happy. Beethoven thought about marriage despite the fact that the girl belonged to an aristocratic family. But the composer in love consoled himself with the fact that he would give concerts, achieve independence, and then marriage would become possible. He spent the summer of 1801 in Hungary at the estate of the Hungarian counts of Brunswick, relatives of Juliet's mother, in Korompa. The summer spent with his beloved was the happiest time for Beethoven. At the peak of his feelings, the composer set about creating a new sonata. The arbor, in which, according to legend, Beethoven composed magical music, has been preserved to this day. In the homeland of the work, in Austria, it is known under the name "Garden House Sonata" or "Sonata - Arbor". The sonata began in a state of great love, delight and hope. Beethoven was sure that Juliet had the most tender feelings for him. Many years later, in 1823, Beethoven, then already deaf and communicating with the help of conversational notebooks, talking with Schindler, wrote: “I was very loved by her and more than ever, was her husband ...” In the winter of 1801 - 1802 Beethoven completes the composition of a new work. And in March 1802, Sonata No. 14, which the composer called quasi una Fantasia, that is, “in the spirit of fantasy,” was published in Bonn with the dedication “Alla Damigella Contessa Giullietta Guicciardri” (“Dedicated to Countess Giulietta Guicciardi”). The composer was finishing his masterpiece in anger, fury and the strongest resentment: from the first months of 1802, the windy coquette showed a clear preference for the eighteen-year-old Count Robert von Gallenberg, who was also fond of music and composed very mediocre musical opuses. However, Juliet Gallenberg seemed brilliant. The whole storm of human emotions that was in Beethoven's soul at that time, the composer conveys in his sonata. These are grief, doubts, jealousy, doom, passion, hope, longing, tenderness and, of course, love. Beethoven and Juliet broke up. And even later, the composer received a letter. It ended with cruel words: “I am leaving a genius who has already won, to a genius who is still fighting for recognition. I want to be his guardian angel." It was a "double blow" - as a man and as a musician. In 1803 Giulietta Guicciardi married Gallenberg and left for Italy. In turmoil in October 1802, Beethoven left Vienna and went to Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the famous "Heiligenstadt Testament" (October 6, 1802): "Oh, you people who think that I am malicious, stubborn, ill-mannered - how unfair to me; you do not know the secret reason for what you think. Since childhood, I have been predisposed in my heart and mind to a tender feeling of kindness, I have always been ready to do great things. But just think that for six years now I have been in an unfortunate state ... I am completely deaf ... ”Fear, the collapse of hopes give rise to thoughts of suicide in the composer. But Beethoven gathered his strength, decided to start a new life and, in almost absolute deafness, created great masterpieces. In 1821 Juliet returned to Austria and came to live with Beethoven. Crying, she recalled the wonderful time when the composer was her teacher, talked about the poverty and difficulties of her family, asked to forgive her and help with money. Being a kind and noble man, the maestro gave her a significant amount, but asked her to leave and never appear in his house. Beethoven seemed indifferent and indifferent. But who knows what was going on in his heart, torn by numerous disappointments. “I despised her,” Beethoven recalled much later. “After all, if I wanted to give my life to this love, what would be left for the noble, for the higher? » In the autumn of 1826, Beethoven fell ill. Exhausting treatment, three complex operations could not put the composer on his feet. Throughout the winter, without getting out of bed, he was completely deaf, tormented by the fact that ... he could not continue to work. On March 26, 1827, the great musical genius Ludwig van Beethoven died. After his death, a letter “To the immortal beloved” was found in a secret drawer of the wardrobe (this is how Beethoven titled the letter himself): “My angel, my everything, my self ... Why is there deep sadness where necessity reigns? Can our love endure only at the cost of sacrifice by refusing to be full, can't you change the situation in which you are not wholly mine and I am not wholly yours? What a life! Without you! So close! So far! What longing and tears for you - you - you, my life, my everything ... ”Many will then argue about who exactly the message is addressed to. But a small fact points specifically to Juliet Guicciardi: next to the letter was a tiny portrait of Beethoven's beloved, made by an unknown master, and the Heiligenstadt Testament. Be that as it may, it was Juliet who inspired Beethoven to write an immortal masterpiece. “The monument to love, which he wanted to create with this sonata, very naturally turned into a mausoleum. For a man like Beethoven, love could not be anything else than hope beyond the grave and sorrow, spiritual mourning here on earth ”(Alexander Serov, composer and music critic). Sonata "in the spirit of fantasy" was at first simply Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, which consisted of three movements - Adagio, Allegro and Finale. In 1832, the German poet Ludwig Relshtab, one of Beethoven's friends, saw in the first part of the work the image of Lake Lucerne on a quiet night, with moonlight reflecting from the surface with overflows. He suggested the name "Lunar". Years will pass, and the first measured part of the work: “Adagio Sonata N 14 quasi una fantasia”, will become known to the whole world under the name “Moonlight Sonata”.
The creator of the "Moonlight Sonata" called it "a sonata in the spirit of fantasy." It was inspired by a mixture of romance, tenderness and sadness. Sadness was mixed with desperation 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 vision loss!
Where did the word "lunar" come from in the title of the sonata?
According to some reports, after the death of the composer, his friend Ludwig Relshtab called it that. According to others (someone like it, but I still tend to trust school textbooks) - it was called that only because there was a fashion for everything “lunar”. More precisely, on "lunar designations".
And so, prosaically, the name 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: sheet music lay in heaps on top of it, and an unempty chamber pot stood at the bottom. More precisely, the notes were lying around wherever you can imagine, including on the piano. The maestro did not differ in accuracy.
Is anyone else surprised that he was rejected by the girl he had the imprudence to fall in love with? Of course, I understand that he was a Great Composer… but if I were in her place, I wouldn't be able to stand it either.
Or maybe it's for the best? After all, if that lady had made him happy with her attention, then it was she who would have taken the place of the piano ... And then one can only guess how it would all end. But it was to Countess Juliet Guichardi that he dedicated one of the greatest works of the time.
At thirty, Beethoven had every reason to be happy. He was an established and successful composer who was popular with the aristocrats. He was a great virtuoso, who was not spoiled even by not so hot manners (oh, and the influence of Mozart is felt here! ..).
But the good mood pretty much spoiled the foreboding of trouble: his hearing was gradually fading away. For several years, Ludwig noticed that his hearing was getting worse and worse. Why did this happen? It is hidden by the veil of time.
He was tormented day and night by noise in his ears. He could hardly distinguish the words of the speakers, and in order to distinguish the sounds of the orchestra, he was forced to stand closer and closer.
And at the same time, the composer hid the illness. He had to suffer silently and imperceptibly, which could not add much cheerfulness. Therefore, what others saw was only a game, a skillful game for the public.
But suddenly something happened that confused the soul of the musician much more ...
The heroic-dramatic line far from exhausts all the versatility of Beethoven's searches in the field of the piano sonata. The content of "Lunar" is connected with something else, lyrical-dramatic type.
This work has become one of the most amazing spiritual revelations of the composer. 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 called her sonata-fantasy, thus emphasizing the freedom of composition, which deviates far from the traditional scheme. The first part is slow: the composer abandoned the usual sonata in it. This is an Adagio, completely devoid of Beethoven's typical figurative-thematic contrasts, and this is very far from the first part of the Pathetique. This is followed by a small Allegretto of a 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 composition.
The three parts of "Lunar" are three stages in the process of becoming one idea:
- Part I (Adagio) - mournful realization of a life tragedy;
- Part II (Allegretto) - pure joy, suddenly flashed before the mind's eye;
- Part III (Presto) - a psychological reaction: a mental storm, an outburst of violent protest.
That direct, pure, trusting, that Allegretto brings with it, instantly ignites Beethoven's hero. Waking up from woeful thoughts, he is ready to act, to fight. The last movement of the sonata turns out to be the center of drama. It is here that all figurative development is directed, and even in Beethoven it is difficult to name another sonata cycle with a similar emotional build-up towards the end.
The rebelliousness of the finale, its extreme emotional intensity turns out to be the reverse side of the silent sorrow of Adagio. What is concentrated in itself in the Adagio breaks out in the finale, this is a discharge of the internal tension of the first part (manifestation of the principle of derivative contrast at the level of the ratio of the parts of the cycle).
1 part
IN Adagio Beethoven's favorite principle of dialogical oppositions gave way to lyrical monologues - the one-dark principle of solo melody. This speech melody, which “sings while crying” (Asafiev), is perceived as a tragic confession. Not a single pathetic exclamation breaks inner concentration; sorrow 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, the music is full of internal, psychological movement: the size of the phrases is constantly changing, the tonal-harmonic development is extremely active (with frequent modulations, invading cadences, contrasts of the same-name modes E - e, h - H). Interval ratios sometimes become emphatically sharp (m.9, b.7). From Bach's free prelude forms, the ostinato pulsation of the triplet accompaniment also originates, sometimes coming to the fore (transition to the reprise). Another textured layer of Adagio is the bass, almost passacal, with a measured downward step.
There is something mournful in Adagio - the dotted rhythm, which asserts itself with special insistence in the conclusion, is perceived as the rhythm of a funeral procession. Form Adagio 3x is a private developing type.
part 2
Part II (Allegretto) is included in the Lunar cycle, like a bright interlude between two acts of the drama, in contrast emphasizing their tragedy. It is sustained in lively, serene tones, reminiscent of a graceful minuet with a perky dance melody. Typical for the minuet is also a complex 3x-private form with a trio and a da capo reprise. In figurative terms, Allegretto is monolithic: the trio does not bring contrast. Throughout the Allegretto, Des-dur is preserved, enharmonically equal to Cis-dur, the same name in the key 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. Mutedness, transparency, "delicacy" of Adagio is countered by the violent 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 has broken 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 contributes to the embodiment of mental shock;
- the original thematic core of the main part of the finale is based on the same sounds as the melodious, undulating beginning of the 1st movement.
The sonata form of the finale of "Lunar" is interesting due to the unusual correlation 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 turmoil and protest given in a torrent of billowing waves of arpeggios, each abruptly ending with two accented chords. This type of movement comes from prelude improvisational forms. The enrichment of sonata dramaturgy with improvisation is also observed in the future - in the free cadences of the reprise and especially the coda.
The melody of the secondary theme does not sound 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 another. The theme of the secondary, in comparison with the main one, is more individualized. It is based on pathetic, verbally expressive intonations. Accompanied by a secondary theme, the continuous toccata movement of the main part is preserved. The tonality of the secondary is gis-moll. This tonality is further consolidated in the final theme, in the offensive energy of which one can feel the heroic pulse. Thus, the tragic appearance of the finale is revealed already in its tonal plane (the exclusive dominance of the minor key).
The predominant role of the secondary is also emphasized in the development, which is almost exclusively based on one topic. It has 3 sections:
- introductory: this is a short, just b-bar introduction of the main theme.
- central: the development of a secondary theme that takes place in different keys and registers, mainly in low.
- a big prejudice.
The role of the climax of the entire sonata is played by code, which is larger than development. In the code, similarly to the beginning of development, the image of the main part fleetingly appears, the development of which leads to a double "explosion" on a reduced seventh chord. And again, a side theme follows. Such a stubborn return to one topic is perceived as an obsession with one idea, as an inability to move away from overwhelming feelings.
L. Beethoven "Moonlight Sonata"
Today there is hardly a person who has never heard L.V. Beethoven, because this is one of the most famous and beloved works in the history of musical culture. Such a beautiful and poetic title was given to the work by music critic Ludwig Relshtab after the death of the composer. And to be more precise, not the whole work, but only its first part.
History of creation
If there are difficulties regarding another most popular work by Beethoven, Bagatelle, when trying to find out who exactly it was dedicated to, then everything is extremely simple. Piano Sonata No14 in C-sharp minor, written in 1800-1801, was dedicated to Giulietta Guicciardi. The maestro was in love with her and dreamed of marriage.
It is worth noting that during this period the composer began to increasingly feel hearing impairment, but was still popular in Vienna and continued to give lessons in aristocratic circles. For the first time about this girl, his student, “who loves me and is loved by me,” he wrote in November 1801 to Franz Wegeler. 17-year-old Countess Giulietta Guicciardi and Beethoven met at the end of 1800. Beethoven taught her the art of music, and did not even take money for it. In gratitude, the girl embroidered shirts for him. It seemed that happiness awaits them, because their feelings are mutual. However, Beethoven's plans were not destined to come true: the young countess preferred to him a more noble person, the composer Wenzel Gallenberg. The loss of a beloved woman, increasing deafness, collapsed creative plans - all this fell upon the unfortunate Beethoven. And the sonata, which the composer began to write in an atmosphere of inspiring happiness and tremulous hope, ended in anger and fury.
It is known that it was in 1802 that the composer wrote the very “Heiligenstadt Testament”. In this document, desperate thoughts about impending deafness and about unrequited, deceived love merged together.
- The author himself noted that the first part of "Lunar" requires the most delicate performance from the musician.
- The second movement of the sonata is usually compared to the dances of the elves from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
- All three movements of the sonata are united by the finest motive work: the second motive of the main theme from the first movement sounds in the first theme of the second movement. In addition, many of the most expressive elements from the first part were reflected and developed precisely in the third.
- It is curious that there are many variants of the plot interpretation of the sonata. It was the image of the Relshtab that gained the greatest popularity.
- Some researchers of his work believe that in this work Beethoven anticipated the later work of romantic composers and call the sonata the first nocturne.
- The famous composer F. Liszt called the second part of the sonata "A Flower in the Abyss". Indeed, some listeners think that the introduction is very similar to a barely opened bud, and already the second part is the flowering itself.
- In addition, an American jewelry company has released a stunning necklace made of natural pearls, called "Moonlight Sonata". How do you like coffee with such a poetic name? It is offered to its visitors by a well-known foreign company. And finally, even animals are sometimes given such nicknames. So, a stallion bred in America received such an unusual and beautiful nickname as "Moonlight Sonata".
- The name "Moonlight Sonata" was so popular that sometimes it was applied to things completely far from music. For example, this phrase, familiar and familiar to every musician, was the code solo for an air raid in 1945 carried out on Coventry (England) by the German invaders.
In the "Moonlight" sonata, all the features of composition and dramaturgy depend on the poetic intention. In the center of the work is a spiritual drama, under the influence of which the mood changes from mournful self-immersion, shackled by sadness of reflection to violent activity. It is in the finale that the very open conflict arises, in fact, for its display, it was necessary to rearrange the parts in places in order to enhance the effect and drama.
The first part is lyrical, it is completely focused on the feelings and thoughts of the composer. Researchers note that the manner in which Beethoven reveals this tragic image brings this part of the sonata closer to Bach's choral preludes. Listen to the first part, what image did Beethoven want to convey to the public? Of course, the lyrics, but it is not light, but slightly veiled with sorrow. Maybe this is the composer's thoughts about his unfulfilled feelings? Listeners seem to be momentarily immersed in the dream world of another person.
The first part is presented in a prelude-improvisational manner. It is noteworthy that in this whole part only one image dominates, but so strong and concise that it does not require any explanation, only focus on oneself. The main melody can be called sharply expressive. It may seem that it is quite simple, but it is not. The melody is complex in terms of intonation. It is noteworthy that this version of the first part is very different from all its other first parts, since it lacks sharp contrasts, transitions, only a calm and unhurried flow of thought.
This romantic name for the sonata was given not by the author himself, but by the music critic Ludwig Relshtab in 1832, after Beethoven's death.
And the composer's sonata had a more prosaic name:Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, op. 27, no. 2.Then they began to add to this name in brackets: "Lunar". Moreover, this second name applied only to its first part, the music of which seemed to critics to be similar to moonlight over Lake Firwaldstet - this is a famous lake in Switzerland, which is also called Lucerne. This lake has nothing to do with the name of Beethoven, just such a game of associations.
So, Moonlight Sonata.
History of creation and romantic overtones
Sonata No. 14 was written in 1802 and is dedicated to Giulietta Guicciardi (Italian by birth). Beethoven gave music lessons to this 18-year-old girl in 1801 and fell in love with her. Not just in love, but had serious intentions to marry her, but she, unfortunately, fell in love with another and married him. Later she became a famous Austrian pianist and singer.
Art critics believe that he even left a testament in which he calls Juliet his "immortal lover" - he sincerely believed that his love was mutual. This is evident from Beethoven's letter dated November 16, 1801: "The change that has now taken place in me is caused by a sweet wonderful girl who loves me and is loved by me."
But when you listen to the third part of this sonata, you understand that at the time of writing the work, Beethoven no longer experienced any illusions about reciprocity on the part of Juliet. But first things first…
The form of this sonata is somewhat different from the classical sonata form. And Beethoven emphasized this in the subtitle "in the spirit of fantasy."
sonata form is a musical form that consists of 3 main sections: the first section is called exposition, it contrasts the main and side parts. Second section - development, in which these topics are developed. Third section - reprise, repeats the exposure with changes.
"Moonlight Sonata" consists of 3 parts.
1 part Adagio sostenuto- slow musical tempo. In classical sonata form, this tempo is usually used in the middle movement. The music is slow and rather mournful, its rhythmic movement is somewhat monotonous, which does not really correspond to Beethoven's music. But the bass chords, melody and rhythm surprisingly create a living harmony of sounds that fascinate any listener and remind of the magical moonlight.
part 2 allegretto- Moderately brisk pace. There is some kind of hope, a spiritual uplift. But it does not lead to a happy ending, this will be shown by the last, third part.
part 3 Presto agitato- very fast paced. In contrast to the perky mood of the Allegro tempo, Presto usually sounds brash and even aggressive, and its complexity requires a virtuoso level of musical instrument skills. The writer Romain Rolland described the last part of Beethoven's sonata in an interesting and figurative way: “A man driven to the extreme falls silent, his breath stops. And when in a minute the breath comes to life and the person rises, futile efforts, sobs, riots are over. Everything is said, the soul is devastated. In the last bars, only the majestic force remains, conquering, taming, accepting the flow.
Indeed, this is the strongest flow of feelings, in which despair, hope, the collapse of hopes and the inability to express the pain that a person experiences. Awesome music!
Modern perception of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. It is often performed at concerts, it sounds in many films, performances, skaters use it for their performances, it sounds in the background in video games.
The performers of this sonata were the most famous pianists of the world: Glenn Gould, Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels and many others.
