First, please listen to the audio player below.
A German friend with whom I worked for a long time is turning 70. I was asked to send a short video message to be played at their birthday party. As background music for the video, I arranged and played the opening of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, "Moonlight," First Movement. Since the video was short, I played it at a slower tempo to match the timing. The piece is less than two minutes long.
The renowned Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman celebrated the 50th anniversary of his debut with a recital on October 3, 2012, at the Great Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. In fact, at the end of the program.
When I first played at the Philharmonic in 1976, the immediate surroundings were very different from what they are today, with the walls in the immediate vicinity. I am honored to perform here today. It was a disservice to all of you not to include a work by a German composer in this year's program. One last piece."
He said, "This is the song I started playing. (Quote:Japan Arts 2012/10/10)
It was on this very day, October 3, that I celebrated German Unification Day. I remember how oppressed I felt when I went to West Berlin from West Germany on business. It was a really heartwarming episode by the master musician Zimerman. (Unfortunately, the Berlin Philharmonic's video distribution "Digital Concert Hall" doesn't seem to have it.)
Title: Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moon Light" 1st.Mov.(Arr. Zimerman )
Sound Source: Vienna Synchron Concert D-274
Audio file format: mp3