Sonata in C Sharp Minor

An outstanding period keyboard player from Belgium, Jos van Immerseel has appeared on many noteworthy recordings of Beethoven string sonatas; here he takes center stage on one of the most famous piano sonatas ever written, the "Moonlight" (No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2). Beethoven's original Italian title for the sonata was "Quasi una fantasia" ("almost a fantasy"). He wrote it in 1801 and dedicated it to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. It is believed that the two were in love but that she was forbidden by her parents to marry him. Composed just a few years earlier, when the composer was 27 years old, his Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 was dedicated to his friend, Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. Beethoven approved of the name Grande Sonata Pathétique, given by the work's publisher, who was struck by it's tragic sonorities. Immerseel's program also includes Six Bagatelles, Op. 126, and Andante WoO 57.