Firstly both pieces are keyed in C# minor and to my ears that are not very trained in classical, I sometimes mistaken one for the other. I would not say that they might have got the idea from each other as there was about a good 30 years between the composition; Beethoven composed his around 1800-1801 and Chopin did his around 1830. I would rather use the word that Chopin might have been influenced by Beethoven if I were to reason it chronologically. The strange thing is that Beethoven lived mainly in the classical era and Chopin witnessed the start of the Romantic era and I was wondering how did such a romantic music come out of Beethoven in 1830? He might have been branded as someone ahead of his time fashion wise and this might not been a good thing.
Secondly, the dark C# minor canvas against which the two pieces were written against makes the music very suitable for listening in a dimly lit room to accentuate the mood. A good glass of Shiraz with a long finish could make the experience. Actually Nocturne translated into English is night. What struck me was the entire Chopin piece was draped in the dark and yet you feel a certain closure at the end of the piece and this is in my mind the very signature of a grand master. The same can be said about Beethoven first movement. There were times that I was almost moved to tears but I was taught from a young age that only girls cry and boys never do.
I thought it relevant to say a few things about the circumstances surrounding Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 14 before I get carried away by the second and third movement. The piece was actually sort of ao commissioned piece and was dedicated to Countess Giulietta Guiccardi but not in the strictest sense a commissioned piece if we think along the lines of the many commissioned pieces that Haydn did and was handsomely rewarded for it. The dedication came after the completion of the piece unlike a commissioned piece for which the composer is told of the occasion in which the music would be used for and what type of structure it should roughly have. The Beethoven must have been an almost plain canvas leaving Beethoven a lot of leeway for his imagination and creativity to turn it into a work of art. This piece was aptly numbered Opus 27/2 because it was either meant to be co-joined together with his Sonata No. 13 as a set or the work of the music publisher to market it as a value for money set since Beethoven most probably handed two pieces to his publisher at around the same time. Your guess is most probably as good as mine on this. I have not listened to his Sonata No. 13 to make an opinionated call here; perhaps later. The name ‘Moonlight Sonata’ was not in the original manuscript as Beethoven most probably did not intend to name the piece. Many Beethoven experts believed that it was Ludwig Rellstab that christened it ‘Moonlight Sonata’.
At the end of the first movement which was in ¾ time signature, the second movement not only changes the time signature to 4/4 but was also uplifted us into a different mood. If we pen the first movement as emotionally melancholic, the very short second movement brings us into the cerebral plentitude of deep contemplative thoughts after the emotionally moving first movement and when we come to the third movement, we can plainly see why the second movement serves as a bridge to bring the Sonata to a closure in the third movement.
The third movement as compared to the first movement is liken to hell and heaven or heaven and hell as the more normal expression. The very first note of the third movement is in a strong definite piano forte chord and continues its explosive display right to the end of the entire piece. It was as if Beethoven has seen the light at the end of the tunnel and I think this piece might also qualify as a piano technician nightmare with the strong and heavy chording. A caution for listeners; if you kept your volume at the same level as when you started the first movement and is in the habit of louder listening, the third movement can blow your system away as it is LOUD by any standard.
I normally would do a comparison of the various versions that I have listened but in this case, I would just merely list them for your reference as I am totally blown away by Beethoven.
1.Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas-Paul Lewis-Harmonia Mundi HMX 2901902.11-Disc 7 Tracks 9-11
2.Beethoven Piano Sonatas-Artur Pizarro-Linn Records SACD CKD244-Tracks 4-6
3.Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas-Bernard Roberts-Nimbus 1774-Disc 10 Tracks 5-7
4.Beethoven Piano Sonatas Volume 1-Gerard Willems-ABC Classics 4650772-Disc 2 Tracks 1-3
5.Beethoven Sonatas 8, 14 & 23-Daniel Barenboim-EMI 0724356697621-Tracks 4-6
6.Simply Beethoven-Bruno Leonardo Gelber-Simply(Denon) 36-Disc 2 Tracks
7.Ultimate Beethoven-Claudio Arrau-Decca B000ICMF5I–Disc 5 Track 7-9
Cheers,,,,Peter Lye aka lkypeter
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