Classical Music Snob Committee

A lot of people don’t seem to be aware of any but the first movement of the “Moonlight” Sonata. It’s not their fault; it’s what they’ve gotten through pop culture. But not only is it usually played slower than indicated and with too many pedal releases,* it really gives short shrift to Beethoven’s instruction to attacca subito il seguente because it’s, like, “Was that first bit too moody? Need a hug? I found us a little string quartet here with some fresh chamber music....”

Of course, it is not with noble intentions that Beethoven does this for us, as he fully intends to kick our asses with the third, which is the one here. I can never quite find a recording of it that really matches what I hear when I read the sheets, but this one gets pretty close, and besides, I can’t play nearly that well.**

* “Please take Beethoven very seriously. [beat] Very good composer.”—Andras Schiff

** But this one time I was practicing and my “activity tracker” device interpreted that as outdoor biking