Pathétique Sonata in popular culture

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Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata Opus 13 in C minor, often called the "Pathétique," is one of the best known works of this composer. Since it is so familiar, and so memorable, it has frequently been incorporated into works of popular culture. This article is a listing of such works.

For information on the sonata itself, see Piano Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven).

[edit] Musical reworkings

  • Billy Joel used the main theme of the second movement as the chorus of his song This Night which appears on his An Innocent Man album. Beethoven is credited on the album notes.
  • Somewhere Out There, from the soundtrack to An American Tail, uses elements of the main theme of the second movement.
  • It was used by Silvio Rodriguez in his song Oh Melancolia.
  • KISS employed that same theme in the chorus of their song "Great Expectations" from the Destroyer album.
  • Banya has a cover of the song called "Beethoven Virus" featured in the popular Korean panel-based dance game Pump it Up.
  • Another cover of the song exists on the online rhythm game O2Jam, called "V3."
  • Klaus Nomi's song I Can't Help Falling in Love is based on the main theme of the second movement.
  • Louise Tucker set words to the main theme of the second movement for her song, Midnight Blue.
  • Demis Roussous also uses the second movement as main theme to the song entitled "In My Dreams".
  • Symphony X used part of the second movement in the transition song "Sonata", from the album Twilight in Olympus.
  • Trans-Siberian Orchestra used it in the tracks "Beethoven" and "Mephistopheles' Return" on the Beethoven's Last Night album.

[edit] Figure Skating

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov used the first movement (Grave: allegro di molto e con brio) in their 1993-1994 long program, performed most notably at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, where they won gold. Although this program is most commonly known as their "Moonlight Sonata" program, it begins with the first movement of "Pathétique".


[edit] Other media

  • In the movie Gods and Generals, the second movement is played by a female character while practicing.
  • The second movement was used as the theme music for the Coen Brothers' film noir The Man Who Wasn't There.
  • Karl Haas used the second movement as the theme song for a popular radio show he hosted, Adventures in Good Music.
  • The opening of the first movement is played in the sitcom Seinfeld, when Jerry is attending the recital of George's girlfriend in The Pez Dispenser.
  • The opening movement is featured in an episode of M*A*S*H where Dr. Winchester doubts the musical abilities of a USO performer.
  • The second and third movements appear in a Peanuts motion picture, A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969), played by the character Schroeder.
  • The second movement appears in the Korean movie The Classic. It is performed by Joo-Hee on stage as Joon-Ha watches from the audience.
  • It appears in the movie Star Trek: Insurrection, in a scene in which the computer starts playing it but Picard rejects it in favor of a mambo.
  • The second movement was used in the River Phoenix film Running on Empty
  • It is played at a recital in the movie Gaslight.
  • The second movement is played in the 60th episode, "The Man who is Chosen for Victory," of the TV Anime Rurouni Kenshin.
  • In the classic novel Little Women, Laurie is heard playing the Sonata Pathétique (movement unspecified) after Jo has rejected his marriage proposal.
  • The animated series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles used a techno remix of the first movement as its opening theme.
  • The second movement appears in the movie The Age of Innocence.
  • The first movement is briefly played in the PC version of the game Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.
  • The first and second movement appear in the movie Immortal Beloved.
  • Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) plays part of the first movement in Psycho II.
  • The second movement is played in the 15th episode, "Slow Dance", of the TV series Northern Exposure.
  • The second movement is featured in the manga, drama, and anime of Nodame Cantabile.
  • The chase scene in The Swan Princess is a revision of the Allegro theme in the first movement.
  • The second movement can be heard in the background during the fist episode of the anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
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