Who composed the Moonlight Sonata?

• A. Beethoven
• B. Haydn
• C. Bach
• D. Durer

Answer: (A)

You're being tested on identifying the composer of a famous piano work. The Moonlight Sonata is Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, written by Ludwig van Beethoven around 1801 and published in 1802. The first movement’s serene, arpeggiated figures create a dreamy mood that many associate with moonlight; the nickname “Moonlight” came from a later critic and isn’t part of the original title. This piece sits at the crossroads of classical form and growing Romantic expressiveness in Beethoven’s work. The other names come from different eras or fields—Haydn and Bach are from earlier musical periods, and Dürer is a painter—so they don’t fit as the composer.