Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 is commonly known as Sonata Pathétique. He composed this sonata at the age of 27, still in his first, classical period. It was written in 1798, published the following year. The Pathétique piano sonata made an immediate sensation all over Europe.
Today, the word Pathétique (pathetic in English) is also used to describe someone miserable or inadequate. The original meaning, however, the one used for naming this sonata, meant sad, stirring, or heartbreaking.
The Pathétique sonata has a tragic and expressive nature, its mood is melancholy, resignation and eruption to defiance. Hence the name Pathétique.
The full name Grande Sonate Pathétique was given by the publisher.
