The Enduring Popularity of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata

Anil Jethmal is a financial professional with more than 25 years of experience as an investment broker. Featured in Simon and Schuster’s 1995 book The Winner’s Circle II: How 10 Stockbrokers Became the Best in the Business, Anil Jethmal uses meditation to sharpen his focus. He enjoys music such as Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” to enhance the experience.

Beethoven composed “Moonlight Sonata” in 1801 for his pupil, 17-year-old Giuletta Guicciardi, a countess whom many believe Beethoven passionately loved. The piece’s original name was simply “Piano Sonata in C Minor op 27 no 2,” but it acquired its current name after the critic and poet Ludwig Rellstab compared the music to the image of a boat on Lake Lucerne on a moonlit night in 1832.

The sonata became one of Beethoven’s most popular pieces, although the composer considered it one of his lesser works. It remains very popular and has inspired modern songs, including John Lennon’s “Because” and Glasvegas’ “Stabbed.”