Uploaded March 2009 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Sonata for piano No. 23 in F minor "Appassionata" Op. 57
1. Allegro assai
Performed by Melvyn Tan, fortepiano
*Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, opus 57, colloquially known as the Appassionata, is considered one of the three great piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the Waldstein sonata, opus 53 and Les Adieux, Opus 81a). It was composed during 1803, 1804, 1805, and perhaps 1806, and is dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The first edition was published in February 1807 in Vienna.
Like the early Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique", the Appassionata was not named by the composer, but was so labeled in 1838 by the publisher of a four-hand arrangement of the work.
The Appassionata was considered by Beethoven to be his stormiest piano sonata until the Hammerklavier, being described as a "brilliantly executed display of emotion and music". 1803 was the year Beethoven came to grips with his complete deafness, and the Appassionata clearly reflects the emotional turmoil he felt during its composition.
**Maxim Gorky recorded that Vladimir Lenin once said, I know the Appassionata inside out and yet I am willing to listen to it every day. It is wonderful, ethereal music. On hearing it I proudly, maybe somewhat naively, think: See! people are able to produce such marvels! He then winked, laughed and added sadly: Im often unable to listen to music, it gets on my nerves, I would like to stroke my fellow beings and whisper sweet nothings in their ears for being able to produce such beautiful things in spite of the abominable hell they are living in." Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, writer-director of the 2006 film "The Lives of Others", has said that his movie was inspired by the aforementioned anecdote. (The film tells the story of a Stasi agent who has a moral awakening when coming into contact with music and art.) The characters in the movie even discuss the Appassionata/Lenin story. In the book "The Vampire Armand" by Anne Rice, it is often played by Sybelle, a young girl who with her friend saves Armand after his failed suicide. The second movement of the Appassionata (along with excerpts from other Beethoven piano sonatas) features in the soundtrack of the Coen brothers movie "The Man Who Wasn't There". The third movement of the Appasionata is featured in Season 1 of The Smurfs, episode 2: "Smurfette's Dancing Shoes" The third movement is also played by the fictional character Emil Fouchon in the 1993 John Woo movie Hard Target.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Sonata for piano No. 23 in F minor "Appassionata" Op. 57
1. Allegro assai
Performed by Melvyn Tan, fortepiano
*Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, opus 57, colloquially known as the Appassionata, is considered one of the three great piano sonatas of his middle period (the others being the Waldstein sonata, opus 53 and Les Adieux, Opus 81a). It was composed during 1803, 1804, 1805, and perhaps 1806, and is dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The first edition was published in February 1807 in Vienna.
Like the early Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique", the Appassionata was not named by the composer, but was so labeled in 1838 by the publisher of a four-hand arrangement of the work.
The Appassionata was considered by Beethoven to be his stormiest piano sonata until the Hammerklavier, being described as a "brilliantly executed display of emotion and music". 1803 was the year Beethoven came to grips with his complete deafness, and the Appassionata clearly reflects the emotional turmoil he felt during its composition.
**Maxim Gorky recorded that Vladimir Lenin once said, I know the Appassionata inside out and yet I am willing to listen to it every day. It is wonderful, ethereal music. On hearing it I proudly, maybe somewhat naively, think: See! people are able to produce such marvels! He then winked, laughed and added sadly: Im often unable to listen to music, it gets on my nerves, I would like to stroke my fellow beings and whisper sweet nothings in their ears for being able to produce such beautiful things in spite of the abominable hell they are living in." Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, writer-director of the 2006 film "The Lives of Others", has said that his movie was inspired by the aforementioned anecdote. (The film tells the story of a Stasi agent who has a moral awakening when coming into contact with music and art.) The characters in the movie even discuss the Appassionata/Lenin story. In the book "The Vampire Armand" by Anne Rice, it is often played by Sybelle, a young girl who with her friend saves Armand after his failed suicide. The second movement of the Appassionata (along with excerpts from other Beethoven piano sonatas) features in the soundtrack of the Coen brothers movie "The Man Who Wasn't There". The third movement of the Appasionata is featured in Season 1 of The Smurfs, episode 2: "Smurfette's Dancing Shoes" The third movement is also played by the fictional character Emil Fouchon in the 1993 John Woo movie Hard Target.
