Viennese Classic

Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770 Bonn/Germany - 1827 Vienna) Sonata Nr. 14 in C-sharpe minor (op. 27/II, 1801) was given the name by which it became famous "Moonlight Sonanta" ( Mondscheinsonate) by the musical writer Ludwig Rellstab, who felt it reminded him of a boat ride on Lake Vierwäld/Switzerland by moonlight. The sonata which Beethoven composed for Giulietta Guicciardi, a student of his, stands out in several ways such as the lack of an allegro in sonata form as the first movement. Because of the romantic mood of the sonata, some scholars believe that Giuletta was Beethoven's famous unsterbliche Geliebte (undying love). Historically important is the fact that the technical demands that Beethoven's sonatas set are so high that very few amateur pianists would be able to play them. This leads to the training of specialists and thus to the beginnings of the virtuoso performer in the 19th c. (Virtuosentum). (E. Stadler)