Beethoven | Moonlight sonata op. 27 no. 2 - adagio sostenuto (1801)
 
The original title of Beethoven’s sonata op. 27 no. 2 – Sonata quasi una fantasia (sonata in the manner of a fantasy) – immediately clarifies the author’s intention to take a step away from his previous work and explore a novel and freer approach to the sonata form, exploiting the musical possibilities of the increasingly diffused pianoforte. This intention is particularly clear in the first movement, where the solemn, long chords and the soft, ostinato arpeggios accompany a markedly romantic melody composed of those very few notes that are sufficient to enchant the listener, creating the calm yet dark mood that inspired the critic Ludwig Rellstab to name the sonata Moonlight 30 years later