8/24 The "Moonlight" Piano Sonata

Whenever I hear the words "Moonlight Sonata" I always initially think of the slow and hypnotic 1st Movement.  However the first time I heard the piece in its entirety, I was pretty floored by the churning 3rd Movement.  Did the moon suddenly hop onto a bullet train?  What made this first listening experience even more jarring was the fact that it was a computer version using synthesizer tones from 1982!

Here's my annotated version of the 3rd Movement Presto Agitato (played decidedly less mechanically by Alfred Brendel):

Alternate Youtube link

Timings from "Play by Play" (Rich)

Even tho this finale is quite the show-stopper, I still love the "neo-minimalist" nature of the 1st Movement Adagio Sostenuto.  Here's a detailed analysis of it in an online book by Neil Miller:


Finally, below you will find a whole site devoted to analyzing this one sonata - well done!