Re: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata

["Etha Williams" <diftorhehsmusma@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 1:13 PM, Reinhold, Christiane <
christiane.reinhold@bearingpoint.com> wrote:

> Agreed (marching to the beat of ones own drum when it comes to musical
> interpretations), but somewhere I read that in fact Glenn believed the
> Moonlight Sonata to be one of Beethoven's strongest Sonatas; compared to,
> say the Appassionata and assorted other B. Sonatas, he was in fact quite
> fond of it; that says something as he otherwise had a somewhat dysfunctional
> relationship with Beethoven.


He said this in his liner notes from the Pathétique/Moonlight/Apassionata
album:



Of Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas, it is fair to say that, at most, a
half-dozen have achieved that special public favor that is afforded by
instant recognition. These, without exception, are the tagged sonatas -- the
*Pathétique, *the "Moonlight," the "Appassionata," and, less fervently
acclaimed, the "Pastoral," the "Waldstein," and *Les Adieux*. Yet, with the
exception of the "Moonlight" (a daring experiment in organizational balance)
and of "Les Adieux" (perhaps the most resourceful of those studies in
motivic compression that effected the transition to his later style), none
of these celebrated sonatas provided landmarks in Beethoven's creative
evolution, and two of the three contained in this album, the*
Pathétique*and the "Appassionata," are more notable for the way in
which they exemplify
the attitudes held by Beethoven at the time of their composition than for
the espousal of any particularly adventurous architectural ideas.

...

...

By comparison [to the *Pathétique*], the Sonata Op. 27, No. 2 (the so-called
"Moonlight Sonata), although comprising three superficially disparate
movements, is a masterpiece of intuitive organization. As opposed to the *
Pathétique*, which recedes emotionally from the belligerence of its opening
Allegro to the more modest claims of its concluding Rondo, the "Moonlight"
Sonata escalates from first note to last. Beginning with the diffident charm
of what is unquestionably Beethoven's best-loved and most abused melody, the
ternary grace of the opening Adagio resolves into the tantalizingly
ambivalent whiff of D-flat major that constitutes the second movement. This
fragile and autumnal Allegretto, in turn, disappears within the flash flood
that is the concluding Presto. Indeed, the Presto movement of this work
seems to crystallize the sentiments of the other two and confirm an
emotional relationship at once flexible and assured. Written in the form of
a sonata-allegro, such as Beethoven would normally emply as a first
movement, it is one of the most imaginatively structured and temperamentally
versatile of all his finales. But because of its cumulative zeal, the
"Moonlight" Sonata is deservedly high on the all-time eighteenth-century hit
parade.




-Etha



>
> Cheers,
> C.
>
> Christiane Reinhold, Ph.D., PMP
> Manager, Public Services
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: f_minor-bounces@email.rutgers.edu [mailto:
> f_minor-bounces@email.rutgers.edu] On Behalf Of Matthew Harding
> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 1:09 PM
> To: Houpt, Fred
> Cc: f_minor@email.rutgers.edu
> Subject: Re: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
>
> Sometimes Fred, you've got to march to the beat of your own drum... or
> in this case, drive to the sound of your own music :-).
>
> (I'm picturing Glenn driving his black Lincoln Continental
> "Longfellow" and being pulled over by the traffic cops...!).
>
> For someone who has listened to approximately 150 Moonlights, (and
> even attempted to bash it out myself when I was younger), Glenn's
> interpretation (and that's what it is) makes me think of someone who
> knew the piece so organically and completely, that he could play it 10
> times faster, or 100 times slower, depending on how he was feeling.
> It's not the tempo that should persuade, it's the overall piece that
> should shine through. Glenn's interpretation, no matter how
> unorthodox, still "works" for me... it is Beethoven and Gould shining
> in a light not often seen.
>
> BTW, he loved Beethoven, but didn't necessarily find this piece to be
> his favourite. Even so, I still find his interpretation tells me
> something.
>
> (Flame-proof suit zipped up... :-).
>
> Best regards,
> Matthew
>
>
>
> On 20-Jun-08, at 1:44 PM, Houpt, Fred wrote:
>
> > Last night I listened to Glenn play the Moonlight.  On two occasions
> > he
> > had to be pulled over by the traffic cops for speeding in a zone rated
> > for moderation.  On the third occasion he jumped to Warp Factor 3 and
> > the radar guys just scratched their heads.
> >
> > Honestly folks, Glenn just obliterated any sense of wonder and mystery
> > in this piece and I have no idea what he was thinking.  He just
> > assassinated the inner calm and grace that lies in the first two
> > movements.  He opted in the first movement to display a moonlit lake
> > that was in a hurry to get it over with and go back to sleep.  The
> > second movement was like a horse on a steady loping fast-walk through
> > the marshes.  The third movement defies all description. It was like
> > he
> > was in a Mozart-kill-this-music mood and he just ripped through it
> > faster than a human should try to.
> >
> > Is it just me or did he destroy this piece? I know he loved Beethoven
> > and so I am mystified by his playing.
> >
> > Comments?
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Fred Houpt
> > Toronto
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