Clement Lo wrote:

>...  When I had to play the Beethoven Sonata Op. 31 no. 2 in an exam, I
>was quite amazed at the amount of contrast that Beethoven got within just
>3 movements.  I have tried to understand how it became the "Tempest", I
>know from the viva voce part of the exam that apparently it was some sort
>of reference to Shakespeare's play, but it doesn't fit somehow, yes, the
>beginning of both works have a 'storm' and the ending of the play is rather
>tranquil as is the coda of the last movement.

As I recall reading, Beethoven, impatient at some listener's asking him
the meaning of the sonata, fobbed the person off by telling him (or her?)
to read Shakespeare's *Tempest*.

Walter Meyer