In-Depth Focus on a Piece – Music Appreciation
Day 1: In-Depth Focus on a Piece
Select a piece of music and research it in depth. You will first find all of the essential background material for the piece. Then, you will write about your own reactions to the piece.
Title: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia" or moonlight soneta
Composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven
Performer(s): Ludwig Van Beethoven
1. What year was the piece written? What period of music history was this? It was composed in the year 1801. It was written in the early romantic era
2. Can you think of another famous composer from this period?
Ambrose Thomas was also a composer during this period. He composed the opera Hamlet.
3. What instruments are required to play the piece? the piano is the main instrument and sometimes only instrument used to play this piece
4. For whom was the piece originally written?
This was written for and dedicated to Beethoven’s star pupil, countess Giulietta Guicciardi
5. When and where did the premier take place?
The original premier took place in 1802 in the Brunswick family estate when Beethoven dedicated the piece to his pupil.
6. Was this piece written early, late, or in the middle of the composer’s career?
I would say that he wrote the piece in the early to middle parts of his life.
Day 2: In-Depth Focus on a Piece
Learning about the history and genesis of a piece is only a small part of really getting to know it. Listen to the piece several more times. As you listen, focus on your own reactions. The effect it has on you, the listener, is the most important thing; background information and historical data are only one piece of the puzzle.
Describe your reaction to the piece, answering the questions below.
1. If there are words, what are they about? Is the text religious or secular? How does the music support or describe what the text is saying?
There are no words to go along with this piece
2. If the text was in another language, were