BEETHOVEN Moonlight Sonata No. 14 in C (Op. 27), Oscar Levant, Columbia, MX-273

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BEETHOVEN
Sonata No. 14 In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2
Moonlight

and

Menuetto
From Sonata No. 20 In G Major, Op. 49, No. 2


Oscar Levant - Piano


Columbia Masterworks Set
MX-273

Complete on Two Twelve-inch Records

Matrix numbers: 71875 - 71876

Ludwig van Beethoven (?l?dv?? væn ?be?.to?v?n/; German: [?lu?tv?ç fan ?be?t.ho?f?n]; baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. He also composed other chamber music, choral works (including the celebrated Missa Solemnis), and songs.

Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and Christian Gottlob Neefe. During his first 22 years in Bonn, Beethoven intended to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and befriended Joseph Haydn. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 and began studying with Haydn, quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. In about 1800 his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. He gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from this period.

The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2, popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, it is one of Beethoven's most popular compositions for the piano.

The sonata consists of three movements:

1. Adagio sostenuto
2. Allegretto
3. Presto agitato

Adagio sostenuto

The first movement, in C? minor, is written in an approximate truncated sonata form. The movement opens with an octave in the left hand and a triplet figuration in the right. A melody that Hector Berlioz called a "lamentation", mostly by the right hand, is played against an accompanying ostinato triplet rhythm, simultaneously played by the right hand. The movement is played pianissimo or "very quietly", and the loudest it gets is mezzo forte or "moderately loud". The adagio sostenuto has made a powerful impression on many listeners; for instance, Berlioz said of it that it "is one of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify". Beethoven's student Carl Czerny called it "a nocturnal scene, in which a mournful ghostly voice sounds from the distance". The movement was very popular in Beethoven's day, to the point of exasperating the composer himself, who remarked to Czerny, "Surely I've written better things."

Allegretto

The second movement is a relatively conventional scherzo and trio, a moment of relative calm written in D-flat major, the more easily-notated enharmonic equivalent of C? major, the parallel major of C? minor. Franz Liszt is said to have described the second movement as "a flower between two chasms". The slight majority of the movement is in piano, but a handful of sforzandos and forte-pianos helps to maintain the movement's cheerful disposition.

Presto agitato

The stormy final movement (C? minor), in sonata form, is the weightiest of the three, reflecting an experiment of Beethoven's (also carried out in the companion sonata, Opus 27, No. 1 and later on in Opus 101) placement of the most important movement of the sonata last. The writing has many fast arpeggios and strongly accented notes, and an effective performance demands lively and skillful playing.

It is written that the C-sharp minor sonata, particularly the third movement, was the inspiration for Frédéric Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu, and that the Fantaisie-Impromptu was actually a tribute to Beethoven. It manifests the key relationships of the sonata's three movements, chord structures, and even shares some passages. Felix Salzer writes: "... With the aid of the Fantaisie-Impromptu we can at least recognize what particular features of the C? minor Sonata struck fire in Chopin. We can actually regard Chopin as our teacher as he points to the coda and says, 'Look here, this is great. Take heed of this example!' ... The Fantaisie-Impromptu is perhaps the only instance where one genius discloses to us — if only by means of a composition of his own — what he actually hears in the work of another genius."

Of the final movement, Charles Rosen has written "it is the most unbridled in its representation of emotion. Even today, two hundred years later, its ferocity is astonishing."

Beethoven's heavy use of sforzando notes, together with just a few strategically located fortissimo passages, creates the sense of a very powerful sound in spite of the predominance of piano markings throughout. Within this turbulent sonata-allegro, there are two main themes, with a variety of variation techniques utilized. 

The Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49, No. 2, is short (and is considered a relatively simple sonata by some pianists) by Ludwig van Beethoven, published in 1805 (although the work was likely composed several years earlier). Approximately eight minutes in length, and is split into two movements. This sonata is referred to as the Leichte Sonaten to be given to his friends and students.

The Piano Sonata No. 20 was possibly written around the time Beethoven composed the Third and Fourth sonatas, but because it was published in Vienna in 1805, nearly a decade after it was actually written, it was assigned then-current opus and sonata numbers, which classified it alongside works from the composer's middle period. Very similar circumstances caused Beethoven's B-flat Piano Concerto to appear as his second, even though it predated the first.

Beethoven often suppressed works in his early years, either revising them later for publication or determining that they were not fit. In fact, he withheld many early works from publication for life. In the case of these two sonatas, it was Caspar van Beethoven, the composer's brother, who decided they were worthy of publication. Against the composer's will, he presented them to a publishing house, thus allowing posterity to hear works that might otherwise have been lost or destroyed.

Movements

1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Tempo di Menuetto

The first movement features a stately theme. It, and a more playful second theme undergo only minimal development before recapitulating at the end, making for a simplified sonata form, with its main theme based heavily on a G Major triad.

The second movement of the Piano Sonata No. 20 shares a melodic theme with the Minuet of the Op. 20 Septet. Because the Septet was the later piece (1799–1800), Beethoven's suppression of the sonata and reuse of one of its themes suggests that he perhaps planned to scrap the piano work altogether. But the composer was known to recycle melodies, in some instances several times. This movement is cast in the form of a rondo, with the main rondo theme being, essentially, a minuet; the minuet features a charming melody that, along with its accompanying material, is repeated several times, varying somewhat in appearance, but remaining simple and unsophisticated.

From the private collection of the late Dr. Harry Hammer, who was the Chairman of Macalester College’s music department from 1969-1977 as well as an avid collector for over 40 years. Dr. Hammer once served as a special hitting coach for the New York Mets. That was in August, 1965...hired to help the Mets' hitters follow the ball better, using a method he originally developed to teach musicians sight reading. All albums are from the late 20’s to early 40’s, and many are original, 1st editions containing pristine pressings from the golden age of 78’s. This collection consists of a nearly complete run of RCA Victor Musical Masterpiece Albums and Columbia Masterworks Album Sets.

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