I think the real reason so few people know about the sonata's second movement is that it's the only one that wasn't featured in the hit mid-'90s video game Earthworm Jim 2.
Growing up, my father, who was self-taught on the piano, always used Moonlight Sonata as his go-to whenever he wanted to play. He always did movement 1 and movement 2, so this actually is quite familiar to me. Interestingly it wasn't until I was much older that I even knew there was a 3rd movement. And also shed some light as to why my dad never played it, given how difficult it is to play.
Agreed. The first movement is not only exquisitely beautiful, it also falls under the hands in an unusually comfortable and pleasurable way for Beethoven. It's also worth pointing out that Beethoven designated it, along with its equally magical but less=celebrated op 27 twin, 'Quasi una fantasia'
I can relate to this exactly. My father has been slowly teaching himself the Moonlight Sonata, and for the longest time, has only been playing the first two movements. (He started learning the third movement 3 or so years ago)
I've also learned the first two and am working on the third. What I would LOVE to pull off is a performance of the entire sonata with Georgii Cherkin's orchestral accompaniment, live in concert.
When I was a kid, I 'improvised' on the second movement by playing it as fast and loud as I could. My teacher said it was the most violent version of the piece he had ever heard. Long live rock!
I feel like movement 2 doesn't prepare you for movement 3, it does the exact opposite. It's all cute and happy after all the sadness of the 1st movement and it's perfect for the 3rd to totally catch you off guard.
Honestly, the second movement helped me to appreciate the third movement so much more. It's so peaceful and happy, I didn't expect a sudden dramatic and dark drop to movement 3. It makes movement 3 so much more intense. I'm glad Beethoven included the second movement
@@WillsKeyboardSink Of course! Yeah, I kin ENA so I made a screenshot of one of the funniest moments for me. Since then I don't plan to change it, I think it says a lot 😂
after almost a year of disrespecting movement 2 i have given it the longest video of all the moonlight sonata videos 😌 i finally noticed m-uwu-nlight senpai... hope you enjoyed the vid :)) lmk if you wanna see more video-essay-esque stuff on this channel since i really enjoyed making this!
My pianist friend played this sonata on a concert and he played the 3rd movement right after the 2nd without leaving a gap in between. What I mean is he started the 3rd movement at the start of the final compass of the 2nd. It was suprising to hear the tempo abruptly change. He allowed himself that liberty and it was super awesome.
I have a different take over that movement that I quite like. When I was about 15, I learned the 1st movement and loved it. It's such a sad, intimate song that, at least to me, felt as if my soul could finally speak, since I learned it in a very tough time in my life. Then, a few years later, I took the challenge of learning the 3rd since I loved it so much. I learned it by ear and by myself, and to me, it reflected so much anger, so much desire to shout... I started the piece as a challenge but quickly found out it actually was saying so much and I resonated with that. It's powerful, but grim too, just as the first one. And then, the second moment attacked. I hated it, it was such a dissonance with such a masterpiece, felt completely out of place. But then I got it, that was the point. For me the whole piece is a story, a story of a tragedy. The 1st movement is a cry over a crisis, something that feels broken, as if it could never get better. Then, the 2nd movement comes and it's suddenly happy, as if despite all the sadness, there was light and a reason to dance, but then, it was all a lie. The 3rd rages over, as if all the happiness of the 2nd was an illusion. It's full of anger, realising things are still in crisis, happiness gone and explains all the sadness and anger throughout the song. I adore it. And I also love your video, you really showed the beauty and history of the piece and it's a fantastic tribute. Thanks for it!
Personally, I've always liked the 2nd movement. It's a nice "palate cleanser" between the dreamy 1st and the "pedal to the metal" 3rd. And, of course, even when Beethoven phones it in it's streets ahead of anyone else. He really liked playing with rhythms, didn't he? I wonder if his deafness played a part in that? He might not be able to hear the melodic transitions (except in his own head) but he could feel the rhythms. Thanks for this. Now you have to create a mini "Moonlight Sonata" playlist!
He was not deaf during the time he was writing Moonlight sonata. His deafness was starting (starting in his 20s) but he did not go completely deaf until around 45.
i feel like he's always been more of a rythm specialist than a melodist. To me, some of his less famous pieces aren't very strong in melody at all, to the point where they're enjoyable to hear but an hour after listening i would barely be able to remember what it sounded like. Like the music is more a landscape of sound and harmony, and a great melody is not always needed for some good music. The rythms however, are almost always pretty satisfying
@@minephlip you're not talking about rhythm, by 'a landscape of sound and harmony' I think you're trying to say harmonic structure and motivic development which is Beethoven's thing. It goes further than just 'a great melody is not always needed for some good music' - great music, like capital-G Beethoven-level Great Music, 'melody' isn't so much of a consideration at all and would only serve to distract from the deeper features of the music (structure and development), Beethoven certainly would have considered writing pretty melodies beneath what he was doing musically. Melodies are for songs, not sonatas so much - a 'song' is the standard musical piece for the casual non-classical listener, so a melody (ie. a single clear vocal line ) is the first thing they listen for. It's why classical composers like Chopin or Schubert (who even wrote actual 'songs') who DO emphasise melody are more appreciated by casual listeners than those who emphasise structure like Beethoven or Brahms (listen to Brahm's first sonata op.1, it's like the basic theme or 'melody' is bad/ugly on purpose, just to show that he can develop it into something worthy or beautiful), nevermind Bach where there's multiple melodies at once
It is a shame second movements are less known. Many of them are delightful. The 2nd mov from Moonlight is like a swing going back and forth. It is said that Liszt called it "a flower between two chasms". I also LOVE the second movement from the Pathetique Sonata. It is sooo beautiful and peaceful.
Gotta' agree the 2nd movement frm #8 is quite epic. It was even the piece used as background music for the program opening trailer for a classical music radio program back in the 70s when I went to college. WQXR, perhaps? Can't recall the host's name.
@@altoclef6688 The movement where however slow you think it is, it actually needs to be slower. (otherwise you’ll fall apart when you hit the 64th note triplets)
Perfect little movement to light up the mood a bit after the first part, and to lead up to the storm that's to come. It's a piece of music I love more and more each time I listen to it. Absolutely underrated. You play it very well, with enough nuance and a lot of feeling. It is so simple, yet sophisticated, not so easy to play well with the off beat accents, but you nailed it.
I have always thought of the Moonlight Sonata as having a story; like this: In Movement One, something devastating happens during the night, and our character of interest is getting very little rest thinking of it, sombre and heartbroken. In Movement Two, our character has to socialise; to paint a smile on his face and complete the day's tasks. It is sarcastic, but not in a way you would notice unless you were privy to the information deceptively displayed by our character; "It's not as if I've been betrayed in the worst possible way, after all, ha-ha!" Sweet, false and excruciating. In Movement Three, our character has finally cared sufficiently for his responsibilities and is now taking action against the event set forth in movement One. Meticulous, enraged and complete; the sun is setting, and The Beast is out for blood...
Yes. This is how I listened to it when I was younger. The first movement would fit my mood whenever I was feeling down. The second movement would cheer me up. The third movement would take me on a journey somewhere that I couldn't really visualize, and it fit thematically with the first one since it had the same key.
I fucken love to see and read how the other persons are interpreting the same pieces, see how we all have different ways of explaining them but being the same at the end of the day it's something beautiful for me
When I learned to play this in college, I wrote on the cover a quote attributed to Franz Liszt, describing it as une fleur entre deux abîmes, or a flower between two abysses. Sums it up pretty well.
I really like how you make classical music more accessible through commentary, explanation and memes. Classical music definitely needs to be less associated with being "high-class" and "lame", and you're doing important work here, and I really appreciate it.
i dont know man, i like the video but the extremely unfunny jokes and memes kind of ruin it. I like that he tries to explain the piece in more laymans terms, but i just wish it stuck to that instead of internet memespeak. Alot of music channels are like that for some reason, trying to make classical cool for the kids is not going to do much other than devalue the work being discussed. Like he did here
@@benis9684 I disagree, you are entitled to your own opinion but I think making Classical music easier for laymen to consume will allow more people to see the true value in Classical music, otherwise, only classically trained musicians and those who have listened to it for very long would be able to appreciate its beauty while laymen look at it with disregard of how important it actually is. Anyway I don't think Will is purposely dumbing down bis videos for his audience, this is just how Yt personalities communicate and apparently it's relatable even if the viewer isn't a musician or even knows what a chord progression is
@@cloroxbleach9222 I wasn't saying that making it easier for laymen to understand was bad. I just dislike that he adds forced humor that will inevitably make the video dated in less than half a decade. For such a long lasting style of music I wish he made his explanations of it as timeless as the music he's discussing. What I mean by making classical "cool for the kids" I just mean that I dislike that instead of a layman's explanation, it just feels like a desperate attempt to appeal to a younger demographic who wouldn't care that much in the first place. "Anyway I don't think Will is purposely dumbing down bis videos for his audience, this is just how Yt personalities communicate" Disagree heavily, not every youtube personality communicates this way. There are plenty of youtubers who have a great presentation style that doesn't rely on various in-jokes, channels like Techmoan, Technology Connections, Jon Townsends And Son and various more obscure channels, they all have a sense of humor when talking about their respective topics, but the humor is one not bound to a specific era and their oldest videos are as entertaining as their newer ones. I am not sure Will's channel will have the same thing in the future, some of the humor in this very video is already dated. I like his concept but I hope that he will refine it to be less obviously from a certain period. Sorry for the repetitive wall of text btw, guess im just really bored right now.
I didn't watch much of the video but you can just search up moonlight sonata 2nd movement on google to answer the question of the title don't take this seriously
i just want to add, the four movement structure was already very much common in symphonies and chamber music from the classical era (haydn sorta gradually developed it in his symphonies, and mozart followed suit). on sonatas people usually leave out one of the movements in the middle (usually they are the slow movement or the dance movement) to make it a three movement structure, but over time other composers (especially beethoven) sorta just goes "xd imma use all 4 movements in sonatas cuz why not" after that, every composer ever was inspired by beethoven in some way aaand so this 4-movement form became basis of almost all classical music from early 1800s onwards, like everything including sonatas, quartets, quintets, symphonies or whatever multi movement works all use this form. (excluding concertos which are just chilling with 3 mvts most of the time for some reason)
Actually, there are PLENTY of examples of both three and four movement sonatas from the Classical, Romantic, and 20th century periods. Composers do what they want...plain and simple. When you write the piece, you get to choose what goes in it. Weren't a couple of Beethoven's earlier sonatas just TWO movements?
I thought sonatas (and concertos) were nearly always 3 movements. Beethoven composed a few (easy ones) that were 2 movements (plus op. 111), all the rest are 3, right?? (And then it was Liszt who wrote that 1-mvmnt sonata, which also had a fugue in it halfway through).
there's just something awesome about the way you manage to explain in a modern fun way what happened in classical music history, making it enterteining also for people who aren't usually into this kind of music. Great video :)
This was absolutely the best music education video I have ever seen. Funny informative and brilliantly put together. I look forward to seeing you more. 👍🏻👍🏻👌👌 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I always love the second movement of Moonlight Sonata because of its playful nature. It's nice to have some rest between the darker movements. Thank you for giving the second movement its well-earned recognition. By the way, your performance is wonderful as usual. I'd love to listen to more of your playing in the future.
@@Memistical just curious, do you play the whole thing? It’s really quite a masterpiece, highly rated for a reason. I only dislike the fully diminished section.
Wow Will! This video is amazing! All of the memes go nice together with the educational part. The 2nd movement was played very well! You should make more videos like this in the future :D
The second movement is the most underrated composition in history. After the solemnity and the funereal mood of the first movement and before the storm of the third. I love it so much
@@rosiefay7283 To me it is not about the tempo, it is more about the rhythm: the groups of triplets and especially the dotted melody line make it sound almost as a funeral march. For sure it is more appropriate interpretation than the Rellstab's famous quote "it reminds me the moon reflected on the Lucerne Lake". I don't feel any "romantic" vibe, I feel seriousness and solemnity, regardless if you play it faster or slower, but those are completely my personal thoughts.
There is speculation(cant remember the source) that the first movement is inspired by the funeral march from mozarts do giovanni. It makes a lot of sense to me and is also faster than people play it
actually when i heard for the very very first time i said oh this is some random keys , at the time i was looking for the first mvt ant the 3mvt , so i just gave it a second shot fully listened to it , and yep now i know why the second mvt is there ....
I really like the format of this video! The combination of history/commentary and performance is really interesting! Putting the pieces in context adds a lot! Would love to see more in this format for other pieces 🙂
this video has come at such an interesting time in my life! I just started learning the 2nd mvt a few weeks ago for the exact reason that it was lesser known and i wanted to be different by learnninng it. appreciate the insight and history!
Its Actually incredible how this movement is Actually SO underrated, like, there's not much about it on like, RU-vid, i remember searching for this movement once, and there was like, one single video about it, and its funny because this is Actually my favorite movement of the whole sonata
Your uploads are always worth the wait. They always manage to surpass my expectations. You are a funny, talented and dashing young man. Thank you for doing what you do. This video really made my day. PS: I would love to see you play your other instruments in a video someday
Excellent video! So very kind of you to shine the light into one of Beethoven's shadows for a detailed video bringing this delightful simple piece to the spotlight for once! I always thought this was a great little piece, but you are correct, TOTALLY overshadowed by the first and third, and unheard of by the average listener. (P.S., I enjoyed your playing! Close attention to the marked articulation, temperate and perfectly timed rubato, etc...but I wish you would get that beautiful piano tuned! It is slightly honky tonk...I'd love to hear how it REALLY sounds! I'm a new subscriber. Thanks for the video!)
Last year summer, a few months before turning 50 - I started to learn to play the piano. I am thoroughly enjoying it! I love all 3 movements of Moonlight Sonata, and like you feel that the second movement should be shown more love. Really enjoyed your interpretation, slower pace - which I think is more emotive, good work!
I don’t play piano yet I always watch knowing I’m getting an entertaining lesson, I love your explanation and knowledge on the subject and the passion you put into delivering these projects. Keep up the great work Will ❤
I actually have heard it before. It was a long time ago, but this part does bring up a memory. Actually it’s weird, because it brings a whole lot of other memories along with it. Like a ballroom, which had walls draped with scarlet curtains, the floor was a mix of white and gold, and the railings of the staircase were gold. I must have been imagining that when I first heard it or something and that’s how I was able to remember the song even though I was probably like 3.
Lovely honoring and playing of the second movement! And thank you for shining your thoughtful (& humorous!) light into places many ignore! I remember learning the entire sonata eons ago and my teacher would never have considered anything but having me learn the sonata in its entirety! Your gift is anointed, but I believe it is meant for more than just entertaining the masses….. what thinkest thou?!?
That was great! Never seen you, I was on a classical music kick and popped up on recommended and realized I indeed hadn’t every heard no2. Great commentary going at the bottom, “writes repeat symbol” 😂 thanks for sharing! I’ll probably be popping in in the future
I personally really like the second movement of moonlight sonata. Never knew the history behind this stuff so that was interesting to learn about as well!
Wow, I've never saw something so simplistic yet very informative about music history and it's forms that wouldn't make me sleepy! (I'm a musician myself, but my main instrument is a tuba) Great video!
Thanks. That was fun and instructive. Fortunately you did the 2º movement at the end. I was really dreading the end of the video without that conclusion. Editing a video does have its comparison to composing a piece of music.
It's a little rest for your ears. Beet knew what he was doing. I like your comments. I do think that the "trio" is a bit new sounding, with that gorgoeous sonority It's actually one of my favorite movements in all of B, as short as it is. Again, appreciate this a lot.
Which is something that modern music producers could learn from. (And some film directors while we're at it) If the entire album is banging, then effectively none of it is. Those other emotions, speeds and volumes are part of what makes that meaningful. A lot of the albums that I have don't start the single until somewhere around track 3 or so, in part because that gives some time for a build up and for the listener to get in tune with what's going on with the album.
i just came here to say i was gifted a CD with the full moonlight when i was 9 and learning piano and i fell so in love with claudio arrau's interpretation of it, i learned it before i ever learned the other two. that being said, i am very glad to see content highlighting one of the most beautiful pieces of work for the piano. I have literally shed tears playing through this because it feels so moving to me and i cant explain it. D flat is truly the most beautiful key on piano, and it holds a resonant tonality to my ear that just quivers in the air, i feel very drawn to d flat. Also a piece with some D flat perfection, schubert impromptu op 142 no 2 in A flat, of which the trio section of is an absolutely gorgeous cascade of arpeggios culminating in a very dramatic (surprise) key change to A major. No piece from my college studies has stuck with me more than that and I still play it automatically every time i sit at the piano, it's so rich sounding. Against my piano teachers wishes at my graded jury performance, i completely ignored the measured and even AND TOO SLOW tempo which he had me learn (admittedly very good for my mechanical execution of this section) and all i could feel bursting out of me was Richter's interpretation here, blazing fast like he cant help himself. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t1IJswK1R9Y.html
The second mvt is my favorite. Moonlight Sonata happens to be both of my parents’ favorite pieces and they would play it on long family car rides. Whenever I think of those rides, the calm, ethereal second movement is what I remember. It perfectly encapsulates the tranquility of looking out the window while driving a long stretch of road.
Usually when someone says Moonlight Sonata I think of the 1st movement It's just so sad and basically represents literally that "moonlight" The second feels like a good transition from 1st to 3rd So probably that's why it's often forgotten, it is the "sunlight sonata" while the third one feels more like ~anxiety attack~ "twilight sonata"
Love the second movement, known about this "hidden gem" for many years. The melodies and phrasing are so refreshingly and pleasantly simple yet compelling. My only complaint is that its not 7 minutes long like the other two movements.
the second movmement always gives me a sense of false happiness, i dont really know where from but it does. but putting it in the context of the other movements it kinda makes sense, first one is beethoven’s sadness, second is him coping trying to force himself to be happy, and third is him giving up and embracing the rage
Yes I completely agree. And all 3 movements seem so separate and weirdly linked. I also love Daniel Barenboim's integral version of the Sonata on YT and it then always strikes me that three movements are abruptly distinguishable as though the whole sonata was driven by will (here's the link with Will's channel haha) to go out of sadness by anger. Such a great great piece !
@@DanielSilva-gc4xz it is overly happy for such a solemn work of art. I would consider it false, not unlike when some people start taking drugs to feel unnaturally happy in a time of depression.
I've played the sonata, so I certainly know the 2nd movement. In fact, I even remember a quote from Liszt about it in my Schirmer's notes - - to the effect that it was [something like], "a mountain flower in a crevice between two cliffs" [or similar]. You get the general idea. [Update:] Checked Wikipedia: Liszt said, "a flower between two chasms". Not bad for recalling from about 50 years ago! I don't have my sheet music w/ me any more.]
I always thought the 2nd movement was a whimsical preparation of the fingers to tackle the fire of the third. The first being a slow mesmerising warm-up of the hands after a good night's sleep.
I kept thinking, surely I've heard this! I have multiple copies of the Moonlight Sonata. Yes! I had heard it; I could sing along with you, and I think it is a lovely little tune that makes me joyous! Because the first movement of the sonata, takes my breath with the beauty of the melancholy. I've heard an orchestra conducter say: if they had zanax or other anti-depressants in the past, we wouldn't have such beautiful, but mournful music. I absolutely love the minor key music. I"m here, because of the YT algorithms. Just so you know they are working for you. Your playing is sublime. thank you.
The second movement, (and no, I haven't listened to this video through yet) is a charming, lyrical, and cheerful allegretto, almost a waltz. I think it sounds sort of like Chopin, only inspired. It is quite a contrast to the quietly brooding first movement and the furious finale. I first heard the second movement on a 78 my Dad had way back when, performance by Paderewski.
Franz Liszt said about that second movement that it resembles a little flower between the two huge abysses of the other movements. That describes the function and intention of the movement better than "Beethoven made over-powered 1. and 3. movements so he made an intentionally small/weak middle movement". If that had been his idea, he would have taken the liberty to simply compose a sonata of only two movements, as he did several times.
I listened to a classical music track when I was a kid, this was on it. I didn’t know it then… this is the single most nostalgic thing I’ve ever heard, thank you.
I love the second movement. It's probably my favorite of the three. I have fond memorizes of eating nice dinners as a child in the dining room while it played in the background.
i really like the joyfullness of the 2nd movement, it really clashes with the sadness and anger of the first and third respectively. really nice balance of emotion made by beethoven edit: spelling
Great video! Loved the explanation. While I love classical music (piano being my favorite instrument) i never studied it or researched it, so I had no idea about any of this. Very interesting and well explained. Though it made me realize how little I know, since honestly? I don't even know how a sonata is meant to be played. All movements one after the other without breaks? with breaks? I have no idea. I simply enjoy listening to music. The video made me interested in learning more which is great. Thank you!
I've always really liked the 2nd movement and the pause afterwards waiting for the 3rd movement is really heavy when you know what's coming next. Well-played, sir!
In my piano days, many decades ago, I learned to play the first and second movements. I love the second movement. Will you post, please, a video of you playing Moonlight Sonata in its entirety? Thank you.
Love the detail about Elise. Thank you for this unique insight into a piece that I only ever mastered the first movement of, and if I recall correctly, I only ever played it correctly one single time in my entire life. I was more into Depeche Mode at the time, but since Martin Gore (or was it Alan Wilder?) also put the first movement of the moonlight sonata on a maxi single once, I guess the piece was cool with me.
I don't play piano but I always listen to all 3 movements when I listen to Moonlight Sonata, at first I wasn't a fan of the 2nd but it really grew on me over time...
