Somehow the 2020 Beethoven Anniversary Year is not quite as high on the agenda as it really ought to be. Corona has completely changed the anniversary year. So it is delightful that Anja Braun’s favorite piece is the Kyrie for choir, arranged by Benedict Bierey after the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.
The Moonlight Sonata, the Appassionata, a violin sonata for choir? Is this really necessary? Isn’t there enough original music by Beethoven already? Isn’t there something slightly disrespectful about this? Karen Priebe’s background is as a pianist, and she is a professed fan of classical piano music, so she was both curious and a little sceptical when she first heard about the new Beethoven for choir CD. Naturally she first listened to the Kyrie based on the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, and was lost in reverie from the first measures. She has found her favorite piece!
