BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 "Moonlight" - Valentina Lisitsa

Filmed live at The Royal Albert Hall June 19th 2012 Album OUT NOW on iTunes http://www.valentinalisitsa.com
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770--1827
Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 "Moonlight"

We all fell victims of the clever marketing ploy by Beethoven's publisher, didn't we?
Ever since this Sonata was published with a title, we keep imagining something very romantic: a moonlit landscape, perhaps a lake with gentle waves reflecting the moon, a boat , lovers.... Ugh. Debussy's "Clair de Lune" can just follow the first movement, right?
If we stop and think for a moment -- where is the melody here and what is it? The answer is simple enough . It is a funeral march; don't let those lulling triplets dissuade you. It is a funeral march. Just a short time before Beethoven wrote a letter addressed to his brothers, friends. In that letter he admitted that he had lost his hearing and the prognosis was dismal. He called the letter a "testament", it can also be called a suicide note. He never sent out the letter but he poured his feeling out in his music.