Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata Mvt 1

it's beethoven! it's moonlight! it's sonata! it’s the first movement! it's 40 degrees celsius in australia right now so i'm not wearing a hoodie!

[langadubazana]

I haven't heard this piece this slow before. It makes you really appreciate the harmony and the whole gravity of the piece.

[BreadBoi-]

You're the type of person who actually plays the second movements of pieces

[xflipsyx]

Gotta love the emotion he puts into it 👌👌👌

[yuvalne]

Some of my favourite facts about Moonlight Sonata:
1. Beethoven didn't give it the name "moonlight", it was only given to the sonata after his death. Which kinda explains the last movement.
2. The first movement is Adagio Sostenuto, despite many people playing it almost Grave. In fact, Beethoven most likely intended for the piece to be played twice as fast as most people play it (evident by the use of cut c), and we probably only play it so slowly because of tradition and because of that name "moonlight".
3. Pianos at the time of Beethoven didn't go as low as pianos today do, meaning those dramatic low F#s in the third movement were literally THE SECOND LOWEST NOTE ONE COULD PLAY on a piano at the time. Talking about drama!

[aljd]

fun fact: beethoven wrote this piece as he was getting more and more deaf. he even wrote a letter to his family about wanting to commit suicide because he was losing the sence that “ought to be more perfect” than his compositional skills, so he was having to go through dark ass times which translates perfectly in the beginning and the acceptance at the end of the piece :D

[Pingoping]

I'm practicing Beethoven pathetique 1st mvmt right now and it literally has a diminished 5th like every other measure but he keeps resolving that shit so it doesn't really sound dissonant, that's what I love about him. I never played moonlight but I still appreciate it despite it's popularity. Nice playing as well

[leob]

I really enjoy watching your videos, they are like a mix of absolutly beautiful playing, somewhat explaining whats happening, but also being comedic at the same time. Keep it up!

[thwiwdj]

Ah yes, I love the piano gameplay and commentary!

[SuperBartet]

I'm 65 and been trying to play the piano for about two years, and I can now play 12 bars of this. Great to see how well you play it, and love the comments :). Think it may be another two years before I can play it all. Just watched you play the 3Mvt, and I'm sure I'm not going to live long enough to ever be able to play that part :(

[napierlearnspiano]

Amazing emotional interpretation! I'm an adult beginner and literally just 'finished' learning and uploading this piece. Beethoven and I have the same birthday so back in the fall I set myself the goal of learning it and uploading to YouTube to document my progress. Taught me a lot about regulating the volume of the main melody relative to the harmony, as well as finger independence.

I really appreciate your commentary too, as someone without a music background before I started learning the piano. It will help me next time I try to play the piece!

It may be mega popular, but it's popular for a reason! It's just so good =]

[heather]

Lowkey…is anyone else impressed this beautifully talented young man plays by heart and not with sheet music??? Bravo, amazing William ✌️🔥❤️

[courageous-schools]

that’s exactly the tempo I believe it should be played. It takes enormous control to play at that speed. Expression is beautiful.

[melaD]

One of most favorite movements in all of classical music. It just speaks to my soul.

[youregonnaletityeetyouaway]

i love your videos so much especially the format of adding commentary which makes it even more entertaining!! i was going back and forth on whether to film piano videos but after seeing this i feel inspired so thank you:)

[poeikep]

You're so amazing!! Always a pleasure hearing you 🤗

[islaadele]

The reason I started piano lessons. Watched a Russian ice dance pair skate to this at the winter Olympics when I was a kid, and spent the next month pestering my mum for piano lessons. She finally succumbed, and I marched into my first piano lesson armed with this sonata. Teacher laughed at me and told me I wouldn't be needing it for a while, but I was a stubborn little $hit so I went home and painstakingly wrote the notes out under each bar and learned it in secret. Then I did that with the second movement. Went okay. Then tried it with the third movement... lolz. Brick wall.

[okonjiijeawele]

this piece IS gorgeous. No matter how many times I play it always feels like I’m playing it for the first time again. Honestly the beauty of this piece is amplified when you play it yourself and express the beauty of it how you want to. beethoven the MAN THAT YOU WERE !

[awesomesauce]

The end was actually giving me chills. Classical music never gets boring or old, and the emotion you put into the piece makes it entertaining to watch. The commentary was interesting and kept me engaged. Really well played :)

[ritris]

This was always my favorite piece to play, so much emotion and such an interesting piece.

[Alitavakolisport]

It was one of the best performances that I have ever heard