Beethoven Sonata Op. 27. No. 2, aka Moonlight Sonata, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Movement

0:18 I. Adagio sostenuto
6:27 II. Allegretto
8:17 III. Presto agitato
Here is the recording of William performing Beethoven Sonata Op. 27. No. 2, aka Moonlight Sonata at the Atlanta Young Artist Concert in the idyllic Emory University campus. Beethoven himself titled this Sonata quasi una fantasia. By that he meant it was in the style of free-form improvisation. Indeed, you feel like a journey or a wild dream started with an evening rumination, morphed into an elongated battle, and ended with heroic triumph. In between there is “a flower between two abysses”, as remarked by Franz Liszt about the 2nd movement.
In William’s words, “the beginning is the buildup of a volcano eruption and at the end of the piece it erupts into a ball of flame and smoke.” William adores this sonata and enjoys countless nights of practicing with implacable ferocity jumping from the keys.
#moonlight #moonlightsonata #beethovensonata