One autumn, Beethoven went to travel and perform in various places and came to a small town on the Rhine River. One night, while walking on a quiet path, he heard the intermittent sound of a piano coming from a hut, playing his own music.
As Beethoven approached the hut, the sound of the piano suddenly stopped and someone was talking in the house. A girl said: "This piece of music is so difficult to play! I have only heard others play it a few times, but I can't remember how to play it. It would be great if I could hear how Beethoven played it himself. !" A man said: "Yes, but the tickets for the concert are too expensive, and we are too poor." The girl said: "Brother, don't be sad, I just said it casually."
Hearing this, Beethoven opened the door and walked in gently. There was a candle burning in the hut. In the dim candlelight, the man is making leather shoes. There was an old piano in front of the window, and sitting in front of it was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl with a pretty face, but she was blind.
The shoemaker saw a stranger coming in, stood up and asked, "Sir, who are you looking for? Did you go to the wrong door?" Beethoven said, "No, I'm here to play a piece of music for this guy." The girl listened."
The girl quickly stood up and offered her seat. Beethoven sat in front of the piano and played the piece that the blind girl had just played. The blind girl listened with rapt attention. After playing the song, she said excitedly: "How skillfully you play! How deep your emotions are! You, are you Mr. Beethoven?"
Beethoven did not In answer, he asked the blind girl: "Do you like to hear it? Let me play you another song."
A gust of wind blew out the candle. The moonlight shines through the window, and everything in the hut seems to be covered with silver gauze, making it look particularly quiet. Beethoven looked at the brother and sister standing beside him, and pressed the keys in the quiet moonlight.
The shoemaker listened quietly. He seemed to be facing the sea, and the moon was rising from where the water and the sky met. The sparkling sea surface was instantly filled with silver light. The moon rises higher and higher, passing through wisps of thin clouds like gauze.
Suddenly, strong winds blew on the sea and huge waves rolled up. The waves illuminated by the moon were shining brightly towards the shore one after another... The shoemaker looked at his sister, the moonlight was shining on her peaceful face and her wide-open eyes. She seemed to see it too, and saw a scene she had never seen before, the rough sea illuminated by the moonlight.
The brother and sister were intoxicated by the beautiful sound of the piano. By the time they woke up, Beethoven had already left the hut. He rushed back to the inn and spent the whole night recording the song he had just played - "Moonlight Song".
Extended information
This piece of music is divided into three movements:
The first movement, sustained adagio, in C sharp minor, 2 /2 time, three-part style. It is a fantasy, improvisatory and soft ballad in the form of a sonata. Contrary to the traditional form of piano sonata, Beethoven used an adagio in the first movement of this piece, and the slow melody reveals a touch of sadness.
The second movement, Allegro Minor, is in the key of D flat major, in 3/4 time, in the form of a trilogy. In this movement, Beethoven once again "went the other way" and changed the second movement, which has always been a slow movement in traditional piano sonatas, to a very brisk rhythm, a short, concise and beautiful melody. A sharp contrast to the first movement.
The third movement, exciting Presto, in C sharp minor, 4/4 time, sonata form. This movement has a delicate structure, wonderful piano effects and rich musical content. The stormy melody contains various complex piano techniques, expressing an angry mood and high fighting spirit.
Baidu Encyclopedia—Moonlight Song