The Moonlight Sonata in popular culture

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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata opus 27 no. 2 in C sharp minor, often called the "Moonlight Sonata", is one of the composer's most popular works. The first movement is particularly well known and often learned for amateur performances. Thus, it is unsurprising that the work, and particularly its first movement, should frequently appear in works of popular culture. This article is a listing of these appearances. For information on the sonata itself, see Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven).

Contents

[edit] Figure Skating

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, 1988 and 1994 Olympic champions in pairs figure skating, performed their long program in the 1993-1994 season to Beethoven. This program is known as their "Moonlight Sonata" program, although only two-thirds of the skate are performed to the Piano Sonata No. 14; it begins with the first movement of Piano Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven) Pathétique (Grave: allegro di molto e con brio), continues with the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata (Adagio Sostenuto), and ends with the third movement (Presto Agitato). Gordeeva and Grinkov won the 1994 Olympic gold medal in Lillehammer with their free skate to this program.

[edit] Literature

  • The sonata figures extensively in the Mapp and Lucia novels by E.F. Benson.
  • The sonata is played at one point by the piano player of Cathy's brothel in John Steinbeck's East of Eden.
  • In Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy, Mashechka plays the sonata several times for Sergey Mikhaylych, often evoking intense emotion. Furthermore, Beethoven, who was in his early thirties when he wrote the piece, had dedicated the sonata to a seventeen-year-old girl with whom he was in love; in Tolstoy's story, Sergey Mikhaylych, a man of thirty-six, falls in love with young Mashechka, who, like Beethoven's love, is but seventeen.

[edit] Music

  • The Beatles song "Because" from the Abbey Road album, was written based upon a reversal of the "Moonlight" Sonata's chord progression; John Lennon had heard Yoko Ono playing the Beethoven piece on piano.
  • Brazilian heavy metal band Viper made a version of the "Moonlight" Sonata with lyrics in their 1989 album Theatre of Fate.
  • A rendition of the Sonata, performed by Alan Wilder, is included as a B-side on Depeche Mode's single Little 15.
  • A variation of this song is also on the first track of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Beethoven's Last Night album.
  • Yannis Ritsos has written a poem called Moonlight Sonata.
  • Bass player Stuart Hamm made a version of the "Moonlight" Sonata in his album Radio Free Albemuth using a two-hand tapping technique. He performed his rendition of the Sonata at a live concert with guitarist Joe Satriani in 2002 ("Joe Satriani - Live In San Francisco").
  • Alicia Keys begins the first song of her debut album Songs in A Minor with the opening of the "Moonlight" Sonata -- just as Beethoven's melody begins, she blends it into her own song as the "Moonlight" fades out.
  • In the piano part of a slow rock ballad called Marianne for Flugel horn and big band, by Martin Bunce.
  • Iranian classical guitar composer Behzad Mirkhani performed a version of the "Moonlight" Sonata by solo nylon guitar in his 2004 album 70 Minutes with Guitar Romances.
  • The classical guitarist Francisco Tárrega made an arrangement of the first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata", as well as other works by Beethoven, including the Allegretto from his Symphony No. 7.
  • Neneh Cherry use the opening sequence of the Moonlight Sonata as a sampling background for her song "Somedays" on the album "Homebrew" (1992).
  • Pianist Bradley Joseph performs his rendition of Moonlight Sonata on his 2006 album Piano Love Songs.


[edit] Television

  • In the cartoon The Smurfs, the third movement is often used during times of danger and distress, as the agitated music is perfectly "stormy".
  • In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lessons," Lt. Commander Nella Darren plays a short rendition of the first movement for Cpt Jean-Luc Picard in a Jefferies tube junction.
  • The piece appears in the television show Magnum P.I. whenever the piano is played at Robin Masters' estate.
  • The piece is heavily mimicked and featured in of Episode #22 of Season #2, entitled "The Haunted Sonata", in the now defunct television series The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.
  • In Korean drama Beautiful Days, the first movement of the sonata is played in the middle of episode ten, when Sun-jae and Mi-mi are in the bar together. Near the beginning of episode eleven, Sun-jae is seen playing some of the third movement as he stews over all his emotional problems.
  • In the 5th season episode "Fear of Flying" of the 1990's American sitcom, Home Improvement, Jill Taylor starts taking piano lessons. She is seen repeatedly throughout the episode attempting to play the 1st movement of the Moonlight Sonata. This creates some humorous dialogue between the kids and herself, as well as her piano teacher.
  • Was played during the wedding procession of Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry in the reality tv show My Fair Brady.
  • Marcus Miller covered the song in his 2005 album Silver Rain.
  • In an episode of the cartoon Chilly Willy, the dog Smedley plays this song in a mini-radio to keep a bear sleeping.
  • In the The Invisible Man's first season episode "Reunion," the first movement is played at the very beginning to underscore an emotional flashback moment.
  • In the third season Highlander episode "Shadows" Duncan MacLeod has recurring dreams which begin with him playing the first movement on Joe's piano, though in reality he doesn't know how to play.
  • In the fifth season of Highlander the sonata is revamped into an eerie rock art piece and used as a backdrop for the episode entitled "The Modern Prometheus" which is based on the events which lead to the creation of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. This piece, entitled "Music of the Night" by Roger Bellon can be found on the Highlander, the Series soundtrack CD's.
  • In an episode of the cartoon Garfield and Friends called "Up a Tree," the Moonlight Sonata is played when Garfield is stuck in a tree overnight.
  • In the TV series of the late 1980's 'Beauty and the Beast' the Moonlight Sonata is played by a young Rolley, child prodigy, when asked to play his favorite tune, by the woman who would become his music teacher. She refers to it as 'God's favorite song'. In this show, the teacher is killed in a drug-related crossfire and the young Rolley is lost to the streets.

[edit] Audio

[edit] Film

  • In the film Misery it is used in the famous "hobbling" sequence.
  • The musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown features a song, Schroeder, that uses the sonata (albeit transposed a whole step lower) as its music; Schroeder plays the first movement as Lucy awkwardly adds her own words.
  • In the early part of the Japanese movie Casshern, the first movement of the sonata is played in the background.
  • In the movie The Pianist Adrien Brody's character hears a German officer play the first movement of the sonata while hiding out in an abandoned building. Later he will be discovered by the officer and will play Chopin's G minor Ballade for him. The officer will spare his life because of this musical link between them.
  • Jamie Foxx plays the first movement of the "Moonlight" Sonata in the 2004 Ray Charles biopic Ray.
  • In Guy Ritchie's movie Revolver first movement of the Sonata is used in the bullet-time assassination scene in restaurant.
  • In the film Elephant, the first movement of the Sonata is used on many occasions, including a scene where Alex practices piano.
  • Gary Oldman, as Beethoven, plays "Moonlight Sonata" on the piano in the movie Immortal Beloved.
  • A piece of the score from Corpse Bride bears some striking similarities to the first movement of the sonata: the piece is played by the main character on a piano towards the beginning of the film.
  • The piece also features during slow time-progression sequences in the film K-19.
  • The main musical piece in the Korean hit horror film, Phone, or "Pon", based on a popular South Korean urban legend about a high school student who commits suicide and haunts her school, playing piano when nobody is around. The piece is played multiple times throughout the film, used to symbolise the essence of love, lost. The main character learns to play the 1st movement of the Moonlight Sonata, for her lover.
  • The piece was used in the last scene of the film The Truman Show, as Jim Carrey is "leaving the world."
  • In the movie Far & Away, Nicole Kidman's character is playing lively ragtime music for company and suddenly switches to the Moonlight Sonata, much to the disappointment of her mother.
  • Parts of the first movement are used throughout the film Being John Malkovich.
  • It may be heard in the film Crimson Tide.
  • In the UK film "London to Brighton" it features in the scene as the two girls enter the millionaire's house.

[edit] Computer and video games

  • The first movement of the "Moonlight" Sonata figures heavily into the first Resident Evil video game, as playing the song on a piano opens a door that allows the player to progress through the game. In Jill Valentine's scenario, she somewhat clumsily plugs away at the keys and produces an acceptable version of the song. In Chris Redfield's scenario, he enlists the help of semi-competent musician Rebecca Chambers after trying unsuccessfully to play the song himself. Rebecca takes much longer than Jill to play the song correctly, and she can be heard frustratedly rehearsing the piece whenever Chris passes by the piano room. The movement appears on the soundtrack in complete form, listed as "The Moonlight Sonata".
  • Similar to Resident Evil, in Resident Evil 0 the piece must be played on a piano in order to progress any farther. Although in Resident Evil 0 Rebecca Chambers has not had the practice required to play it, so you must use Billy Coen.
  • The videogame "Earthworm Jim 2" uses the complete first movement of the "Moonlight" Sonata as background music to the "Villi People" level, in which the main character is turned into a blind cave salamander and must manouver an intestine filled with villi. A short excerpt of the third movement is used as the background music on the "See Jim Run Run Jim Run" level. Later CD based versions of this game used the full third movement, early Megadrive/SNES cart versions only used the first one-and-a-half only.
  • A version of this song was played in the computer game Titanic: Adventure Out of Time during the cargo room scene. It was modified slightly to add to the suspenseful atmosphere.
  • The videogame Jet Set Willy plays a small portion of the "Moonlight" Sonata during the introduction sequence in the ZX Spectrum version.
  • Banya has a techno cover of the third movement called "Moonlight" in the panel-based dance game Pump it Up.
  • The complete first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" is featured in the video game Shadow Man. It is used as an unofficial theme for the boss character Jack the Ripper's lair. The tune is easy to recognize, even though it is reversed in the game.
  • "Moonlight Sonata" is played during the credits screen in the platform game Thexder.
  • In the Playstation 2 game Pop'n Music, the collection of classical songs in the song Concertare (Classic4)begins with a rendition of the third movement.
  • In the Playstation 2 game Echo Night: Beyond, one can hear the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata playing in the introduction to the game.
  • The game Dr. Franken on the Game Boy uses the entire first movement of the Moonlight sonata as background music for the game.
  • The song is played by Bijou on the piano in the Game Boy Advance game Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak. The song also can be unlocked and used as a Ham-Jam.
  • The first movement of the song is played on the opening screen of the Half life mod BrainBread.
  • The computer game SimCopter, by Maxis features the third movement.
  • The game Return to Castle Wolfenstein features the first movement, played over in-game speakers in the multiplayer maps Assault and Village. They would usually be the first things to be shot by the defensive team in order to better hear the incoming enemy.

[edit] Anime

  • In the episodes "The Moonlight Sonata Murder Case Part 1" and "The Moonlight Sonata Murder Case Part 2", a double episode of the anime Case Closed, each time a murder victim was found, one of the three different movements was heard.
  • In the anime Wolf's Rain, the sonata is used to reinforce the theme of the moon throughout the series in the finale.
  • Speed Grapher often uses it for background music. (track 17 on the OST)
  • In episode 6 of Strawberry Panic, Étoile plays the first movement.
  • In Japanese television series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, based off of the Anime and Manga Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, character Zoicite plays Moonlight Sonanta in almost every episode.
  • A version appears several times in some of the episodes of the third arc of the TV Anime Rurouni Kenshin.
  • In the second episode of the Tokimeki Memorial, the Classical Music Appreciation club listens to it.
  • In the anime parody Perfect Hair Forever the beginning is played when Gerald tells Inappropriate Comedy Tree that he cannot ride with him, as his helmet is too big.
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