Creator: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work Type: Music
Date: 1801
Description:
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia”, Op. 27, No. 2, popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata, was completed in 1801 and dedicated to his student, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The sonata’s nickname derives from a critic’s 1832 description likening the first movement to moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne. The piece consists of three movements, with the first being the most famous for its dreamy, lyrical quality. It remains one of Beethoven’s most celebrated and performed compositions.
Relationship to Sicilianos's Work:
In Yorgos Sicilianos’s work, a musical phrase from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, frequently hinted at in Yannis Ritsos’s play, becomes a central motif. This phrase, consisting of three distinct notes (G-sharp, C-sharp, E), is used with various shifts, alterations, and variations throughout the piece. The original source of this motif is only revealed near the end of the composition.
See: Sicilianos, Yorgos. Για τη Μουσική [On Music]. Edited by Elly Yotopoulou-Sicilianou. Athens: Benaki Museum, 2011. 426-427
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The Lady in the Moonlight by Yorgos Sicilianos - A Look At The Composer’s Workshop (II) |
Nikos B. Tsouchlos |
Department of Music Studies, Ionian University Athens Conservatoire |
2016 |
Greek |
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YSC83 |
The Lady in the Moonlight |
for Mezzo-Soprano, Narrator, Clarinet, Viola and Guitar. On the poem "The Moonlight Sonata" by Yannis Ritsos |
41 |
Mezzo-Soprano, Narrator, Clarinet, Viola, Guitar |
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2 |
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YSC85 |
The Lady in the Moonlight |
a dramatic scene. |
43 |
2211-2100, Timpani, Percussion (Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Crotale, Cymbals, Cymbal struck with Sticks, Tam-Tam, Triangle, Tambourine, Snare Drum), Harp, Strings, Characters: The Woman (contralto), The Young Man (Actor – figurant) |