Most music and piano enthusiasts are drawn to the beauty and emotion of Beethoven’s sonatas. The “Moonlight Sonata” and “Pathétique” are two of his most famous sonatas with contrasting movements and a somewhat high level of technical difficulty.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 where he lived until his early ‘20s. He then moved to Vienna and composed many of his famous symphonies and concertos. He was a piano virtuoso and studied the viola growing up. It has been said that he was a difficult, strong, and tempestuous individual who wrote to please himself and not others. His tenacity became even more apparent in later life when he became fully deaf yet composed some of his most beloved pieces. He reportedly sawed off the legs of his piano so he could feel the musical vibrations through the floorboards. He continued to write music for an additional 30 years until his death.

Although Beethoven wrote during the Classical period, many of his pieces are considered Romantic. These highly expressive and nuanced pieces consist of a range of emotions that is often turbulent or somber with melancholic overtones.

My foray into playing the Pathetique Sonata began about one year ago. I was focusing on my daily tasks when a musical theme came to my mind. I could not for the life of me figure out where the music came from and who wrote it.

I was tempted to call my piano teacher, hum a few bars, and see if she could solve this musical conundrum.

One day, I was in our basement going through an old box of sheet music. In a serendipitous moment, I came across the score for the Pathétique Sonata. I ran upstairs to my piano room and sounded out the notes of the second movement and there it was—the music I had been hearing.

I set my mind to learning this piece which was rich in texture and beauty. Some critics have interpreted the title “Pathétique” as tragedy or melancholy. Although the tone of the second movement is slower in tempo than the first and somewhat somber, I feel it is sublime.

Although it is not as complicated as some of his other works like the Appassionata, (which Beethoven considered his most tempestuous sonata), it is a challenge to learn the fingering along with understanding the phrasing and melody.

I love the Romantic music period and if you want an afternoon of listening pleasure, find the splendid interpretations of Beethoven sonatas by contemporary pianists such as Daniel Barenboim and Andras Schiff.

Happy listening!