This Sonata was first published together with the following one in C sharp minor on March 3rd, 1802. They were both composed in 1801, the happy year of the composer's love for Countess Giuletta Guicciardi. The term _Fantasia_ by no means implies formlessness, but rather a departure from the ordinary Sonata form. The first movement--an _Andante_, full of light and shade--is held by purists to be wrongly barred throughout, the first beat being the third, and so on. It is followed by an _Allegro_ in C major which leads back to the return of the _Andante_, this time varied. The _Allegro_, which takes the place of the _Scherzo_, is full of imagination and vigour. The slow movement is used as a bridge leading into the _Finale_. All the movements are chained together in one whole. Just before the precipitant _Coda_, Beethoven takes a final glance back at the subject of the _Adagio_. 14th SONATA, Opus 27, No. 2, in C sharp minor. _Adagio sostenuto--Allegretto--Presto agitato._ The title page describes the work as _for clavecin or pianoforte_. The nickname, "Moonlight," given to it by the poet Rellstab, has no authority and only serves very faintly to define the peaceful charm of this sensitive picture, which was more probably inspired by the composer's romantic love for the Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The direction in Italian, "to be played throughout with the greatest delicacy," is significant, although the term _senza sordini_ is somewhat vague. It may have meant that it is to be played with the sustaining pedal, i.e., without the dampers. It is probably a general indication that the piece requires the pedal to sustain each harmony, for nowhere is harmony put to such effective use as in the dreamy yet placid opening _Adagio_. There is scarcely a stir, except where an occasional minor 9th causes a slight emotional ripple. A little _Allegretto_ takes the place of the usual Minuet. It might be a dance of peasants, heard in the distance. The restless and passionate _Presto_ is one of the finest movements in all the master's works. Like the preceding Sonata, all the movements follow on without break. But there is a definite organic connection between them, the _Finale_, and the opening movement in particular. Compare the first four semiquavers of the _Presto_ with the second quaver group of the _Adagio_, and the quaver chords in the second bar of the _Presto_ with the melodic figure in bars 5 and 6 of the opening movement. The second subject of the _Finale_ has three well-defined sections, the first melodic, the second dolorous expressive chords, the third a souvenir of the first. The _Coda_ is one of the most deeply expressive things Beethoven has ever written. It ends with a powerful gust of unpent passion. 15th SONATA, Opus 28, in D major. _Allegro--Andante--Scherzo--Rondo._ Dedicated to Joseph Eiden von Sonnenfels.