How fast should Moonlight Sonata be played?
I think the real question here is whether Beethoven’s tempo marking, Adagio sostenuto, refers to the pulse at the half note (minim) or quarter note (crotchet). Most artists continue to assume that the adagio refers to the quarter note even though the time signature for this movement is clearly alla breve (cut time or 2/2). I feel very strongly that any artistically informed performance of this movement demands that the pianist accept the relationship between the adagio and the metric pulse at the half note level. With this in mind, I can recommend a range of tempi between half note=36 on the slow end and and half note=44-48 and the fast end. Hall size, instrument characteristics and mood all play a part in any final decision about the tempo. Even the slowest tempo I recommend is faster than most recordings of the work, but traditions hold little water with me. I consistently seek the composer’s truth revealed through the notation and instructions in the score. In this case, we have cle
