What is the tempo marking for Moonlight Sonata Mvt 3?
Artur Schnabel suggests a MM of half note = 88 I have always though that Schnabel was a bit fast in most of his MM’s — but he was a far better pianist than I am. The correct tempo is one that lets you show the listener all the detail and keeps the energy level high, and forward motion inevitable. But once you select that tempo, do not stray far from it, or you will have a soggy mess on your hands. In total disagreement with jimrock above. This is NOT a “romantic” piece — it’s extremely classical. And no matter what era of music one is playing, tempo ALWAYS matters. Just because one plays in strict tempo doesn’t mean they have to sound “robotic” A typical sign of a poor player, at least to me, is one who uses extremes in tempo to “emote”. Phrasing, voicing, and coloring are the expressionary tools of the musician — if tempo distortion is the only way one knows of to create expression in music, I would rather not listen.
