The full name of this piece is “Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor,“Quasi una fantasia“ (In The Manner Of A Fantasy), Op. 27, No. 2″, but it’s known best under the name of “Moonlight Sonata”.
There’s three parts to the song; the slow and contemplative 1st, the livelier yet still very calm 2nd, and the almost frantic 3rd, which I should imagine is very tricky to play!
As with all great music, a range of emotions can be conjured up, from reflection at the start, to happy serenity in the middle, to a sort of awe at the last, intense section.
The opening notes are very famous and are very powerful, but the last bit blows me away really, with its blistering flurry of notes.
The piece was written around 1800-1801, and was a big hit as far as the term applies to Classical music. So much so they Beethoven was a bit annoyed with it and wished people would acknowledge his other stuff a bit more!
Easily one of the best musical compositions ever created…