Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 Third Movement for Orchestra (arr. by Phil Justin)

The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked Quasi una fantasia, Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Julie "Giulietta" Guicciardi. The name Moonlight Sonata (German: Mondscheinsonate) grew popular later, likely after Beethoven's death.

The piece is one of Beethoven's most popular compositions for the piano, and it was a popular favorite even in his own day. Beethoven wrote the Moonlight Sonata in his early thirties, after he had finished with some commissioned work; there is no evidence that he was commissioned to write this sonata.

The stormy final movement (C♯ minor), in sonata form and common time, is the weightiest of the three, reflecting an experiment of Beethoven's (also carried out in the companion sonata Opus 27, No. 1 and later on in Opus 101, namely, placement of the most important movement of the sonata last. The writing has many fast arpeggios/broken chords, strongly accented notes, and fast alberti bass sequences that fall both into the right and left hands at various times. An effective performance of this movement demands lively and skillful playing, great stamina, and is significantly more demanding technically than the 1st and 2nd movements.

Of the final movement, Charles Rosen has written "it is the most unbridled in its representation of emotion. Even today, two hundred years later, its ferocity is astonishing".

This arrangement for orchestra was meant to capture that ferocity and unbridled behavior. Was Beethoven just the metalhead of his time? :)

Arranged and produced by Phil Justin. Scored in Sibelius 8 and NotePerformer 4. Mastered in Adobe Audition.

This is the 3.0 version of the score. I made far more cuts between versions 2 and 3 than I did between versions 1 and 2; the piece is alot more mellow in sections. Much of the lower brass was removed and much percussion, but the piece holds up better for the concert hall now and has alot less of a “cinematic Beethoven” feel. Things feel alot more cohesive overall. If I need to make a version 4 for any technical purposes, I will, but I hope that 3’s a charm and that this is a wrap.

For now, I’ll keep versions 1 and 2 online as a study of what NOT to do.

#beethoven #noteperformer #moonlightsonata