The Spirit of Beethoven Lives on: anti-fascism with a heart!

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (December 10, 2020)

Benito Mussolini's fascists took power in Italy in 1922. That same year, Italian priest and composer, Licinio Refice, composed an opera dedicated to Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. It wasn’t until 1934 that was produced in Rome, where it was a huge hit.

Refice composed the opera “Cecilia” for the great soprano Claudia Muzio (he also wrote many other pieces for her, stating that she “had God in her throat”. ) He also composed this beautiful song for her.

In this gorgeous rare performance, Muzio singing in 1935, the year before her death, with the composer conducting.

The poem is:

Ombra di nube
Era il ciel un arco azzurro di fulgor;
Chiara luce si versava sul mio cuor.
Ombra di nube, non mi offuscare;
Della vita non velarmi la beltà.
Vola, o nube, vola via da me lontan;
Sia disperso questo mio tormento arcan.
Ancora luce, ancora azzurro!
Il sereno io vegga per l'eternità

Translation:
There once was, in the sky, a blazing arc of azure,
Clear light poured over my heart.
Shadow of a cloud, do not obfuscate me,
In this life, do not veil my inner beauty.
Fly away cloud, fly far from me
Let this moment of my torment be dispersed
Once again light, once again Azure!
May the serene see for eternity.

Our 24-hour Beethoven 250th birthday celebration begins at 12 AM, Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Join us! Free and live-streaming on YouTube live:

Classical Music and Peace

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (December 9, 2020)

During the Cold War Era, the USA and the USSR came very close to both war and mutual nuclear annihilation. The two countries were founded on two entirely different systems of government. But each were founded in order to break free of the colonial system, and both, though sometimes characterized as uncivilized, bore high standards of classical culture.

Just what role such a high standard of classical culture played in avoiding war, is both intangible, yet at the same concrete.

A TIMELINE

1956:
The launching of the Soviet satellite Sputnik caused an international uproar. Six months later, American pianist Van Cliburn entered the First International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

The story of the Tchaikovsky competition is told as follows: the jury panel included pianist Sviataslav Richter, Lev Oberon, the composer Kabalevsky, and was chaired by pianist Emil Gilels, and overall supervised by composer Dmitri Shostakovitch. Some of the jury had preselected a Russian pianist, Lev Vlasenko to win. But Cliburn's playing was upsetting the fixed order.

When some jurors started rigging things for Vlasenko, Richter responded by awarding Cliburn perfect scores, and others zeros to counter the rigging. There was a fear in the jury of giving the award to an American. Gilels nervously approached General Secretary Kruschev about the matter. Kruschev asked, "Is he the best?" On behalf of the jury, Gilels said "Yes." Kruschev replied, "Then give him the award."

Here is Cliburn's award winning performance. For such giants as Richter, Gilels, and Shostakovitch to grant the award to an American, demonstrates, in our eyes, a degree of honesty on their parts.

https://youtu.be/rHbPDDoVXtQ

Chairman Gilels, himself a great pianist, embraced Van Cliburn onstage, after his victory. Two great nations discovered that they had a rich classical tradition that supercedes political tensions.

The Russian people loved Van Cliburn, and he reciprocated. Van Cliburn returned to the US for the first ticker tape parade ever given for a classical musician. He spoke humbly:

“I appreciate more than you will ever know that you are honoring me, but the thing that thrills me the most is that you are honoring classical music. Because I'm only one of many. I'm only a witness and a messenger. Because I believe so much in the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible, the importance for all generations, for young people to come that it will help their minds, develop their attitudes, and give them values. That is why I'm so grateful that you have honored me in that spirit.”

September 1959:
Soviet Premier made a tense visit to the USA, after an earlier visit to the USSR by vice-president Nixon.

The earlier friendliness engraved by classical art endured. In 1960, Cliburn was booked for a June concert in in Baku, Azerbaijan. One month before, American pilot Gary Powers was captured and his U2 spy-plane was shot down. Diplomatic ties were broken. President Eisenhower cancelled a state visit, but Khrushchev surprised everyone with a directive to proceed with the concert. Kruschchev had become a fan of the pianist.

That same year, 1960, Russian pianist Sviataslav Richter, who had voted for Cliburn's victory, performed an all-Beethoven concert in Carnegie Hall. Soon after, Cliburn brought Russian conductor Kiril Kondrashin to conduct in the USA, the first time a Russian conductor had done so.

Van Cliburn returned to the USSR in 1962, before the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted. Khrushchev was in the audience smiling. Here is a beautiful video of the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 from that concert, with Kiril Kondrashin conducting:

https://youtu.be/vr2AKxf8m14

October of 1962:
The "Missile Crisis" erupted. We shall never know how much of a role the cementing of such cultural exchanges played in war avoidance, but we feel its presence.

President Kennedy is universally praised for his restraint and opposition to military hardheads. There are Europeans who also praised Kruschev's role in resisting the same militaristic tendencies in his own country. Fidel Castro was reported to have been furious with Kruschev for withdrawing the missiles without Cuban consent, and is even said to have urged him to launch them all.

If you know that your supposed enemy shares a love of a rich cultural tradition, you might not think of him as a barbarian, and might be less eager to wipe each other out.

Here is Sviataslav Richter, live at Carnegie Hall in 1960, performing a beautiful, and extremely vocal rendition of the slow movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.3 in C Major, Op.2 No.3

https://youtu.be/F9_DCt11kI8…

We would do well today, to remember this beautiful dialogue between cultures.

Beethoven and the Heroic: The Netherlands 🇳🇱—A Case Study

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (December 8, 2020)

Beethoven’s Egmont Overture was presented several months ago in our Daily Dose. But today, we present it as a preview to our December 16th, 24-hour Beethoven Birthday Celebration (https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY), along with an improved video for your edification.

The Netherlands

The leading intellectual circles of Beethoven’s time were concerned with the historical study of the fight for freedom. One important breakthrough in their minds was the Independence of the Netherlands from the Spanish crown, two centuries earlier—over a more than 80-year period—from 1558-1648. Three works were written about that history:

1. Schiller's play Don Carlos in 1787.

2. Schiller's The History of the Revolt of the United Netherlands Against Spanish Rule in 1788.

3. Goethe's 1788 play Egmont

Notice that the great poets and playwrights were also great historians.

Beethoven was only a teenager when these works were written. In 1809, he was asked to compose incidental music for Egmont, a task he accepted gladly. A few words about the actual history will help.

Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (18 November 1522 – 5 June 1568) was a general and statesman in the Spanish Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War. Count Egmont was also a wealthy Dutch nobleman who sided both with his people and King Phillip of Spain. His peer, the much wiser William the Silent, fled, and warned him of potential betrayal by Spain's treacherous Duke of Alba. In 1567, Egmont foolishly accepted a dinner invitation to discuss his grievances with Alba. He was arrested at that dinner, and soon executed, along with 1,000 others in 1568. Alba was seeking to dominate through a reign of terror, although it eventually backfired on him. Sometimes "a long train of usurpations and abuses", leads people to think that they "have no recourse, but to throw off such government."

Although not immediate, the execution of Egmont contributed to a popular uprising. Beethoven's Egmont Overture to Goethe's play, condenses the long historical process into one optimistic moment of change. Listen to this recording, and you will hear the representation of the execution of Egmont. After a moment of quiet sorrow and reflection- a prayer- something begins to swell up, out of the silence. Beethoven's magnificent ending displays the spirit of the people, rising up against tyranny.

We created this video with visuals and text for your enjoyment!

https://drive.google.com/…/1vu-xdaPofrBU-u9jBjiANjIKYn…/view

Our 24-hour Beethoven 250th birthday celebration begins at 12 AM, Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Join us! Free and live-streaming on YouTube live: https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 26 in Eb Major, Op. 81a: Les Adieux (goodbyes)

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (December 4, 2020)

Napoleon's army invaded Austria for the second time in 1809, and Beethoven's sponsor, friend, and piano student, the Archduke Rudolph, was forced to flee.

Beethoven dedicated this sonata, which will be showcased at the 24-hour Beethoven Celebration (https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY), to Rudolf, and it specifically addresses his situation. The three movements were entitled by Beethoven Das Lebewohl (Farewell), Abweisenheit (Absence), and Das Weidersehen ( Return).

FIRST MOVEMENT: Lebewohl

The opening three notes of this movement are perfect example of “motivfuhrung”—or motivic leading. Beethoven wrote the word Lebewohl, or "Farewell" underneath those notes—G, F, Eb—in the key of Eb, so 3-2-1 in that key. That brings up an important aspect of music.

Vowels are shaped by what are known as formants—it has equivalent musical intervals between them. Every trained singer knows about the procession of going from "dark" to "bright" vowels. Try for yourself! Singing on one note, or even just pronouncing, the vowels "oo oh ah eh ee." You can hear how they progress from dark to bright, and you might even feel the focus moving from the soft palate at the back of the mouth, forward to the hard palate in the middle, to the teeth. Thus there is a physical reality to language that corresponds very much to music. (See example 1)

Now pronounce the word, "lay- buh- vole." This moves the other direction. You can almost hear the tone going down as you speak. 3 2 1 in a scale is the most natural setting of this word. It is counterpointed in the alto voice by a descending triad—Eb, Bb, G—which suggests distance and space. Finally the final tone in the bass, is not Eb, but C, what is known as a "deceptive cadence", giving it a sense of being unresolved, or incomplete.

Young composers can do well to learn something about the musical economy and efficiency of this! That motive shapes the movement.

SECOND MOVEMENT: Abweisenheit

Dissonant intervals such as the tritone, and diminished 7th chord (sometimes known as Lydian intervals) are ambiguous in nature, and thus serve well as agents of change and unexpected transitions. However, if you just "sit" on such dissonances, delaying change, they can produce great discomfort, as if something is missing. That is what Beethoven does here. (See example 2)

THIRD MOVEMENT: Das Weidersehen

An exhuberant expression of joy at the thught of Rudolf's return. (See example 3)

The timing of the movements are marked in this recording, performed by Alfred Brendel:

https://youtu.be/Z26dfRI9rqg

The Double Fugal Method

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (December 3, 2020)

On September 16-17, 2020, we wrote a two part series called “reveling in Fugue”.  We think that it is one of the most beautiful and mentally challenging musical forms that exists in the annals of human music. We therefore, return to our discussion of the fugue. 

Beethoven obviously loved the fugual form. We will not count all of the works of Beethoven which contain fugues-there are simply too many. Neither will we count movements that contain double-fugal writing—such as the first movement of the Ninth Symphony. Today, we will look at entire movements that are based on Beethoven's double-fugal method.

The difference between a “fugue” and a “double fugue” can be summarized as this: A fugue has a subject that repeats at different intervals, as well as a counter subject that does the same, but does not have equal weight with the subject. A double fugue has two subjects of equal weight, both of which develop fugally. In Beethoven's hands, those two subjects bring about great change in each other and themselves.

We use the term “double fugal method”, because Beethoven does not limit himself to formal fugal writing throughout these movements. However, in the parts that are not fugal, you will see the same two thematic ideas in play.

We provide a short audio just to identify the main subjects: https://drive.google.com/…/1iCTyhrHM6O4V7CVZao1UVvNJf…/view…

1. We could include the third movement of Cello Sonata No. 5, Op. 102 No. 2, from 1815. We just discussed it a few days ago. So we refer you to the post of November 30th.

2. The 4th movement of the " Hammerklavier Sonata"—Piano Sonata No. 29, Op. 106. Like the fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony, this begins with a long improvisation, as if searching for a theme. After the soulful third movement closes on a repeated F# major chord the F# drops to F and we hear octaves of F in the piano.

To our minds Beethoven seems to be reviewing the fugal writings of Bach and Handel, in order to find his own voice.

The fugue begins at measure 15 (2:52 in this recording) with just the first subject. The second subject joins in at measure 26 (3:08).

We feel that most performances of this movement are too fast, so we have chosen an excellent slower one. You can find many fast versions for comparison's sake.

https://youtu.be/wPi17PSXbj0

2. Ninth Symphony Fourth Movement. We discussed this movement extensively in several postings beginning April 21st. The two fugue subjects appear simultaneously at 17:30 in the recording.

https://youtu.be/jxMWrGZxeE4

3. “Et Vitam Venturi” from the Credo of the “Missa Solemnis”. One fugue subject is on the words "Et vitam venturi saeculi" (and the life of the world to come), and the other on "Amen" (see the posting of September 14rth.) It opens with the two subjects at the same time.

https://youtu.be/v8QDfc9YO0w

4. “Grosse Fuge”: This work was originally the last movement of String Quartet Opus 130. It is massive enough that Beethoven was convinced to publish it as a seperate work—Opus 133. We discussed it over several postings beginning June 2nd. The first subject can be heard alone at 0:55 in this recording. The second subject joins it at 1:08.

https://youtu.be/eWp6xpuzOIc

Orpheus and Eurydice: Shakespeare and Beethoven

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (December 2, 2020)

In our upcoming 24-hour Beethoven 250th Birthday Celebration (https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY) we will present a segment titled: “Beethoven, Poetry, and Drama”. We wish to give our audience a preview of the segment with today’s post!

Beethoven's Inspirations from Literature

Beethoven decried the idea of program music, but not of poetic inspiration. He wrote in the sketches for his "Sixth Symphony" (the Pastoral): "More of a feeling than painting".

It's a fine line.

The story of “Orpheus” appealed to all musicians. He was the best musician of all. Wild beasts became docile upon hearing him play.

Shakespeare must have had some sense of this, when he wrote, in his "Merchant of Venice”:

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast..."

When Orpheus' young bride Eurydice died, he braved the terrors of the underworld (also called Hades, after its ruling god), in the hope that music and love might bring her back.

Orpheus had to conquer the hearts of the Erinyes, the Furies-ancient Goddesses who knew neither mercy nor love, only the fixed code of revenge.

The Roman poet Virgil captured the enormous rage of the Furies:

“Not for nothing does divine anger harass you:
you atone for a heavy crime: it is you,
Orpheus, wretched man,
who brings this punishment upon himself.”

It is said that sung poetry is music. As such, poets can be said to hold the equivalence of music and love. According to another ancient poet, Ovid, Orpheus sang to the Underworld:

“Love conquers. This god is well known in the upper world;...
But nevertheless, I sense that he also is here,
I beg by these places full of despair
by this huge Chaos and the silence of this desolate kingdom,
unweave the premature death of Eurydice!”

Erebus, the god of Darkness, also had a region named after him. It was very deep in Hades, and admitted no light. Yet, even these shades rose to hear Orpheus' song.

Shakespeare said the following of the importance of music:

"The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music."

In Greek legend, Hades, the God who ruled over the underworld, was so overwhelmed by Orpheus' music and love that he granted Eurydice the right to return to the land of the living. But, only on the condition that Orpheus not look at her until they were back on earth. Orpheus looked at her too soon, when they were almost home-free, and Eurydice was drawn back below, forever.

The idea that Music have the power to overcome death, was a fascinating idea to many composers. Gluck wrote a wonderful representation of Orpheus' encounter with the Furies in his opera "Orfeo and Euridice":
https://youtu.be/r9VibeNN4Rk

According to Beethoven's first biographer A.B. Marx (whom both Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn saw as the man who helped them comprehend the late Beethoven), the second movement of the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was also based on the story of Orpheus’s journey to Hades. There are scholars who deny any connection of this movement to the Orpheus story, but there are also many who acknowledge it. The movement is so different from anything else and is so dramatic, that it does not fit any musical form.

One respected musicologist, the late Owen Jander, wrote:

“Any reader who has made a close study of the second movement of this concerto is aware that to try to relate this work to any of the recurring forms of slow movements of Classical concertos is futile. My own conviction is that any attempt to analyze the form of this movement without constant reference to its Orphic program is equally futile…In my opinion, to analyze this work without program misses the point of the form.”

Jander pointed out the resonances between Beethoven and Gluck, and also that Beethoven's friend, Friedrich August Kanne, had written an opera on the subject. Jander identified several points at which the text of Kanne's opera matched Beethoven's phrases.

The strings, representing the Furies, enter with "Ha! Who dares approach this place?" They sing in octaves, and in harsh declamatory terms. The piano represents Orpheus with his lyre, and sings beautifully in 4-voiced harmony, but “una corda” (using only one string per note, which gives it a very gentle and warm singing tone):
"I tread this path of terrors gladly."
The Furies respond.' " Ha! Trespasser, leave here!"
Orpheus: "I seek the joy of my life."

As the movement progresses, we hear the voices of the furies softening, relenting, and the couple leaving. Suddenly a terrifying trill erupts. Beethoven shifts from “una corda” to “due corda” and “tre corde”. Should we still seek literary comparisons? If not, how do we account for it? Jander suggests it represents:

1. Orpheus violating the conditionality that he not look at Eurydice until they are safely back on earth

2. Eurydice falling back

3. Her last Farewell.

We provide this short video to match the text, and the images to the music:

https://drive.google.com/…/1gSaVI8jwuR47du8z3V9VE8EacS…/view

Furtwangler's rendition suggests that he shared this understanding of the movement. Here’s is a performance of Piano concerto No. 4 with Conrad Hensen on the piano:

https://youtu.be/0XNFR0uaMDc

Join us starting at 12AM, December 16, 2020, for a 24 hour celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, free and live streamed on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis--An Enigma

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (December 1, 2020)

Each era of Classical music has its monumental creations. The Renaissance produced Monteverdi's "Vespers", the Baroque era crowns its glory with Bach's "Mass in B Minor". Our century in its proliferation exhibits the brilliance of Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem". In most conductor's score study, these three compositions appear somewhat unchallenged.

Beethoven's monumental "Missa Solemnis" should be so considered during (what I call), the Period of Enlightenment. It is an awesome composition, and a thrill to conduct. However, it is not performed with any regularity (in spite of its creative score) by choral/symphonic organizations in proportion to its brilliance.

An example of this irregularity is exhibited in Germany today among its legions of fine choirs and orchestras. Each year, the Bach "B Minor Mass" is heard by hundreds of listeners scores of times (in Stuttgart for example, in the days before and during Holy Week, one could choose by perhaps 10 performances). However, the Beethoven masterpiece is seldom (if ever) heard; but is usually programmed as part of the regular season repertoire. The "Missa" does not attain an equal status among the Lutheran congregations. Further examination reveals that the same ratio occurs in the United Kingdom, and indeed in North America. Hence, an enigma exists.

Many Conductors wrestle with Beethoven's rationale for writing the piece, as they consider whether the genius created the work solely for liturgical purposes; or was there an organized campaign on Ludwig's mind to write the score for political and patronage reasons.

We know that Bach was immersed daily in writing scores for the Church. Whereas Beethoven was a more generalist creator (writing for a more knowledgeable public). Perhaps that shows in his score as not being somehow "heavenly blessed"!!!

The truth is, that Beethoven spent over four years brooding and toiling over the composition. At the same time, he was trying to find a patron and a publisher. He finally succeeding in Schott as the publisher, and after succeeding in securing funding, uttered: "My chief aim was to instill religious feelings not only in the singers, but also in the listeners". Perhaps then, some Conductors feel that there was a somewhat saccharine approach to his writing the piece.

Some musicologists feel that the huge orchestra is needed along with a similarly size choir--making the score an extravaganza instead of a religious experience. As well, we know that Beethoven wrote the piece in the most chaotic period of his life--deafness and encroaching old age forced him to write furiously. In the same time span as he wrote the Missa, his creative mind produced one of the most significant Piano Sonatas (the Hammerklavier), the last five string quartets, and the Ninth Symphony!!! The Missa (for some) shows Beethoven's extreme outbursts of dynamic contrasts, and erratic turns in compositional concepts.

On the positive side of the discussion, the work shows that in the long gestation of the work, Beethoven studied the balanced restraints of Palestrina counterpoint and the fugal restrictions of the Baroque period. He deeply believed that the work would be published for public recognition of his religious "open-minded" enlightened public.

In studying the opening KYRIE, we do hear fervent and sincere attempts at religious conviction in his writing.

The dramatic opening statement, with the contrasting bombastic chorus and orchestra, against the restrained initial statements of the soloists, strongly suggest a personification of the "people" (chorus and orchestra), and the consoling "priests". There is a strong suggestion here that the TRINITY is represented right at the beginning.

In the second section of the KYRIE, Beethoven scores leaps of third intervals constantly, again suggesting the Trinity. Does this indicate that he was cunningly revealing his inner thoughts without blatantly revealing his mind to the audience?

Lastly, the whole KYRIE opening movement is in three sections--totally balanced with in formal analysis of the triune mentality.

In the 21st century, the Missa is not performed as often as the other masterpieces of choral literature simply because of the costs involved. The orchestration necessitates tribes of instruments, and the exhaustive choral singing requirements need an army of trained singers with stamina. The soloists are never given arias but have moments of extreme ranges in their short spurts of energy.

On a personal note, I conducted Messiah over 100 times and the "B Minor Mass" perhaps five. I attempted the "Missa" twice in 60 years of performing.

Even that is an enigma.

Here is a performance of this great masterpiece with score, Performed by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir Conducted by Herbert Kegel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCa0Fquy93A

post courtesy of Maestro Fagan

Beethoven Early Middle Late: the Cello Sonatas—Part 2

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 30, 2020)

In Part One, we discussed Beethoven’s two early cello sonatas—Opus 5–composed in 1797; and his middle sonata Opus 69, composed in 1808. Beethoven's late period really began in 1815, the year that the Congress of Vienna began to crush republican movements in Europe. He composed these two cello sonatas, Opus 102, for Joseph Linke, the cellist of the Schuppanzigh Quartet, who premiered so many of Beethoven's works.

Beethoven’s late period is sometimes characterized as Beethoven turning inward and writing for himself. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The previous three years of 1811-14 had been difficult for him, and without a lot of productivity. Beehthoven has never been a crowd pleaser; he always challenged peoples' axioms. Now his works would follow reason, and not easily recognizable forms. If they sometimes correspond somewhat to traditional forms, like the sonata form, that is likely because the development of thought follows such a form. (For instance, if you look at the magnetic lines of force as a flow, you can see similarities in fluid flows such as water (see diagram). Nature takes the most efficient pathway. So must thought.)

Critics of the time were perplexed by Beethoven's latest music, which they found difficult to follow according to their own norms. The “Allgemeine Musicalische Zeitung”characterized his two cello sonatas, Opus 102 as follows:

"They elicit the most unexpected and unusual reactions, not only by their form but by the use of the piano as well…We have never been able to warm up to the two sonatas; but these compositions are perhaps a necessary link in the chain of Beethoven's works in order to lead us there where the steady hand of the maestro wanted to lead us."

The first thing about the three-movement Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102 No. 2, is that its heart lies in the middle movement—
"Adagio con molto sentimento d'affetto", which comprises about half of the sonata's length. Johannes Brahms told his students that a long “Adagio Cantabile” was the most difficult thing to compose, and certainly no-one could do it like Beethoven. We will provide a recording of the entire work with score, but let us begin with a very special recording from 1954, performed by the great 20th century cellist, Pablo Casals.

Pablo Casals was the world’s greatest cellist. In 1936, he announced that he will no longer perform publicly to protest the fascist government in his native Spain. It wasn’t until 14 years later, that some of his students and friends convinced him to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Bach in 1950, and came to the small village, Prades, where he lived. The Prades Perpignan Festivals went on to produce some of the finest chamber music ever. This is a 1954 recording of Casals and Rudolf Serkin from that festival, of the Adagio. The movement is very dramatic, and goes through great emotional change:

https://youtu.be/DkuyIbANqvg

The first movement, by comparison, is compact. It starts out with a simple motif, repeated twice (like the opening of the Fifth Symphony, but very different) four sixteenth notes, followed by a leap upwards to a dotted half-note. That motive appears frequently to lead us through the movement.

https://youtu.be/IY5wM49YjNM

But the last movement shows Beethoven's greatest break with traditional form. He had already used the “fugue” brilliantly in his compositions, but now would make entire movements fugal. The movement starts out playfully with simple ascending scales, which then turn into the beginning of the fugue subject.

At about 2:47, Beethoven stops and begins a new slow fugue, which reminds us of the first few notes of "And He Shall Reign" from Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus". Later, he would use that quote explicitly in the "Missa Solemnis." The two subjects then combine.

https://youtu.be/QCv61s6K4FQ

Here is a video of the entire sonata with score.

https://youtu.be/HRqgcrD2t70

Beethoven Rondo in C major, Op. 51 no. 1

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 27, 2020)

Beethoven composed two rondos for piano under this opus number in 1797, just two years after his Opus 1. He had studied Mozart intensively during his student years, and the main theme of this Rondo reminds us of the aria, "Il Mio Tesoro" from Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni." We include a recording of that aria from, believe it or not, 1916. John McCormack's ability to shape long phrases was so legendary, that even the conductor would stop to applaud:

A Rondo is a form that keeps returning to the same idea. If we call that main idea "A", then a Rondo can can have many different variations: " A B A C A", "A B A C A B A", "A B A C A D A" etc. In 17th century French music, the “Rondo” form tended to be fairly strict and predictable. In the hands of a Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven, the main element is surprise. When we expect "A", we get something else, and vice-versa. Even when "A" comes right where it should, it is still often a surprise. See if you can discern Beethocen's many surprises in this playful work:

Beethoven: Early Middle Late-Cello Sonatas—Part One

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 26, 2020)

Beethoven composed five cello sonatas during his life, which illustrate his early, middle and late works.

EARLY

Cello Sonatas No. 1 & 2 were composed as Op. 5 in 1796, when Beethoven was visiting Berlin. They were dedicated to the King of Prussia, who was an amateur cellist. These two works by Beethoven have the reputation of being the first such sonatas, where the cello was given an independent part. Since the cello and keyboard formed the continuo for operas and orchestral works, they always shared the same bass line. In most cello sonatas before these works, the cello simply duplicated the piano bass line.

Beethoven early violin sonatas were known as "sonatas for the piano with violin accompaniment." It took a while for instruments such as the violin and cello to be accepted as equals with the piano, and despite the cello having an independent part in these two sonatas, you might notice that the piano still predominates.

Here is Cello sonata No. 1 in F major, from 1796:

https://youtu.be/VQV5RCgRgXc

MIDDLE

Beethoven composed his Cello sonata No. 3, Op. 69, in 1808, the same year as the premier of his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, and twelve years after his previous cello sonatas. Beethoven's growth as a composer is evident, and some cellists feel it is a breakthrough work, because it represents the first time that the cello and piano are equals in a sonata.

The cello opens with three notes—A, E, and F#, which then continues as a phrase ending with a long held E, as the piano enters. The piano then takes up the opening theme. You might notice that the two instruments are handing themes back and forth constantly. These themes are meant for both piano and cello. Both instruments also have their share of flourishes and cadenzas.

The recapitulation, or return to the main idea, is prepared from 8:04 in this recording (or measure 140), and finally emerges, entirely transformed, at 8:39 (measure 152.)

The second movement, a scherzo, begins at 12:44. Beethoven's “Scherzos” transform the staid “Minuet” (which had been featured in hundreds of sonatas, for over a century) into a musical joke. Here, Beethoven plays with syncopation, putting the stress on the off-beat. However, since the two instruments are being treated as equals, we might find some humor in the way they contest who is in charge. It's in 3/4 time, and there seems to be some question as to whether the downbeat comes on beat one, or beat three. It leads to some phrases having one note too many.

The middle section of a scherzo is usually referred to as "trio." In 17th century French dance music, the middle section of a Minuet was a trio, played by three instruments. Later, of course it was not, but the orchestration of the trio section was still usually scaled down.

Formal analysis can prevent one from hearing the humor in a scherzo, precisely because it is so "formal”. Can anyone miss the humor though, when, in the trio section, the piano is reduced to two bass notes, B and A, again and again, at 13:45 (measure 106)—like someone tapping his or her fingers, waiting for a chance to get out of the penalty box and back into the game! At about 14:30 (measure 193), a lone E on the third beat tries to lead our way back to the scherzo, and finally succeeds!

As you might guess, that trio keeps coming back at the end of the movement.

The third movement begins as a beautiful “Adagio Cantabile” (unhurried and singing.) No-one can write a long “Adagio Cantabile” like Beethoven. But here, it is just an introduction, although just long enough to establish the two instruments as equals—as if two singers are in a bel-canto duet. It begins at 17:44.

At 19:43, it breaks out into an “Allegro Vivace” (cheerful and full of life) theme, that somehow reminds us of the opening of the entire sonata. There are 16th note passages in the piano that are almost a blur. We ask ourselves, can the cellist keep up? The cellist does, and we can only wonder at the difficulties the work must have posed at the time.

This movement, though happy, even exuberant, is also very dramatic, and it taxes the listener, just to keep up with its many changes.

PS: great cellist and cello professor, Cecylia Barczyk, will share her unique perspective on Beethoven and her performance of the Cello Sonata No. 3 Op. 69, on December 16, 2020, during our 24-hour Beethoven 250th Birthday Celebration! Link: https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY

PPS: Happy Thanksgiving 🍁🍽!!

Beethoven Rarities: Octet for Woodwinds Op. 103

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 24, 2020)

Beethoven rarely wrote for winds, but when in Bonn, his patron Max Franz requested that he compose for unusual ensembles. Thus, despite its late Opus number, was composed in 1793.

https://youtu.be/RguUoU-hno4

Beethoven undertook extensive studies of Mozart as a youth, and no doubt Mozart's wind ensembles such as The " Gran Partita", K. 361, served as models for Beethoven. Here it is:

https://youtu.be/aMPbgS-2kl4?list=TLPQMjMxMTIwMjCBx2nd5iZwsg

Beethoven’ Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor, WoO 59: Für Elise

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 23, 2020)

When the Coronavirus first caused a national lock down in March, our Foundation decided that instead of letting it rudely seized the limelight from Beethoven's 250th birth year, it really identifies for us, all the more, the need to "Think Like Beethoven”. The kind of scientific creativity and joyful discovery made by this great composer, are what the world requires, especially in midst of a pandemic.

Since then, we’ve written over 200 “Daily Doses of Beethoven”. And, on Beethoven’s 250th birthday, December 16, 2020, we are organizing a 24-hour international Beethoven celebration (https://youtu.be/iyjWFntIiiY). We invite you all to join us in the party! There will be greetings, tributes and musical offering; and we will surprise you with untold stories about great performers of Beethoven’s work; and rare recordings of his compositions. Among them, will be his “Bagatelle”.

Für Elise

Today, we turn to one of his easier, but most beloved compositions—“Für Elise”. Every composer has certain pieces, which just "catch on"—that strike the right chord in the public mind. Sometimes the composer can't even say why. Such a work, is this short piano piece. Its origins are somewhat shrouded in mystery.

Beethoven wrote “für Elise” when he was 40. But it was not discovered until long after his death. The title simply means: "For Elisa." She might have been a woman who Beethoven was in love with, which would help explain why it attracts us so much. No-one is sure. The music suggests though, that she was an amateur. It is not difficult, especially with the main theme in A minor, which repeats three times. One does not have to be a professional to play it well!

Many people report that they fell in love with it as a child. Their mother played it. A teacher played it. They opened a music box, and there it was. Many young people became determined to learn it, often to the horror of their music teachers, who wanted them to stick with the lesson plan and not jump ahead. Those teachers often found though, that the level of motivation is higher when students love what they are playing. They will work harder if they are not bored.

Not everybody learns the entire piece. Although it is only 5 pages long, the two middle sections, though not really difficult, do pose more of a challenge. It is worth the effort though.

Here, Dr. Elizabeth Borowsky performs of this beloved piece on February 1, 2020 in NYC.

https://youtu.be/6uMe457q5f8

Beethoven's Last Three Sonatas: Op. 109

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 20, 2020)

Earlier this week we covered Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 31 in Ab major, Op. 110 in two posts (November 17 & 18). Earlier in this series, we discussed up to a point, Beethoven’s Op. 111 (July 13th and 14th). Scholars are eager to fit these sonatas into the traditional forms. But to us, it is a bit like saying that a fishing shack and a cathedral are of the same form because they both have a roof. (See photos)

We are not quite prepared to say how many movements Op. 110 has, as it is in a process of continuous change. But for Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109, we can safely say that it has three movements, while Op. 111 has two. However, Opus. 109 and 111 share the similarity of both sonatas ending with a transcendent theme and variations, that constitutes the heart of both sonatas.

All three of them follow their own narrative, rather than any fixed pattern. Much as we might wish to categorize them according to a formula we find acceptable, the truth may well be that the world has yet to catch up to the late Beethoven.

The recording we include here is from 1965, by the late Claudio Arrau. He treats the work with dignity and respect, letting it breath, and taking a few minutes longer than others. There are some modern pianists who we feel might be well served, by having a police officer walk on stage, and issue them a speeding ticket!

Here is Arrau's version:

https://youtu.be/M_equgHys2U

The first movement, in E major, is the one that most defies an easy characterization. It starts out, not with a theme, but with intervals in apposition. For those not familiar with the term, it derives from grammar:

“Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side so that one element identifies the other in a different way; the two elements are said to be in apposition. One of the elements is called the appositive, although its identification requires consideration of how the elements are used in a sentence.”

The right hand forms one element, which for the first three measures, consists of rising thirds, followed by falling fourths (see diagram). The answer in the left hand consists of rising fifths and falling octaves. Although the right hand features longer dotted eighth notes, which the left does not, many pianists emphasize the right hand too much, and do not bring out the apposition enough, probably because the right hand usually expresses the soprano voice melody. Is there really a melody here, or is the dialogue between voices what the composer wishes you to hear?

Only nine measures in, the movement switches from “Vivace” to “Adagio espressivo”, changes time signatures, and leaves the key of E major for a passage beginning on an unresolved dissonance, which soon involves long arpeggios.

Six measures later, we are back to the opening idea, though the intervals are different. These two drastic contrasts dominate the first movement. We simply identify them as "A" and "B". The timings in this recording are: "A"- 0:0, "B" - 0:14, "A"- 1:07, "B" - 1:56, "A" - 3:05.

This does not not fit any known form, but even presenting it this way reduces it to formalism. What is the actual story being told here? Why do its many changes move us so much?

The transition to the second movement, in E-minor, is negotiated by the sustain pedal. This movement comes close to fitting both “sonata” and “scherzo” forms, but not quite either. It is marked “prestissimo”, which does not mean as fast as possible. Listen to some performances, and you might feel like handing out the speeding ticket yourself!

The heart of the sonata is the third movement, a vastly transformed theme and variations, back in E major. Several of Beethoven's late works accomplish this transformation of theme and variations in different ways. If one had never heard the last movement of Op. 111, one might think that this movement of Op. 109 could never be surpassed. Then compare these two with the theme and variations movements in the late string quartets, Op. 127, Op. 131, and op. 135.

The theme of this movement is a hymn-like song, marked "Gesangvoll, mit innigster empfindung." (Songful, with inner feeling), and "Andante molto cantabile e espressivo." (walking speed, very singing and expressive). Though “Andante” might suggest a somewhat faster tempo, walking speed depends on the topic being discussed, and this song obviously deserves reverence.

The theme and variations occur at:

Theme: 6:36 It has two sections, both of which repeat.

Variation 1: 9:19 molto espressivo. As in the case of so many themes and variations of the time, the simple song now takes on the characteristics of a virtuosic bel-canto aria.

Variation 2: 11:52. Suddenly, the apposition of pairs of notes from the first movement is back with us. We have 8 measures of this apposition (A), followed by 8 measures of the main song of the third movement (B), then another 8 of A, and 8 of B, reminding us of the first movement.

Variation 3: 13:36. This is marked allegro vivace, and this is again where the speeding tickets come in. Mr Arrau recognized that it continued the pattern of variation 2, and that too fast a tempo could undermine that connection.

Variation 4: 14:47 This is marked "somewhat slower, a little less andante and adagio like the theme." Here is where we make a mistake in taking Beethoven's tempo indications too literally. Schindler indicated that Beethoven changed his mind about them frequently. Beethoven originally identified the theme as “Andante”, and now “Adagio”. We must let the music speak to us!

Variation 5 begins at 17:25, again invoking the first movement but not so directly. The right hand repeats a dropping third, the characteristic interval of the entire piece. This time, the left hand answers it with rising thirds.

Variation 6, beginning at 18:26 is a miracle! If you had not already discerned that this movement left the typical theme and variations gasping for breath, this will make it clear. it begins with "tempo primo del thema" (the original tempo of the theme), slowly, in quarter notes, then accelerates through eighth notes, sixteenths, thirty-seconds, and breaks out into triplets, and double trills, until eventually winding down to restate the opening theme at 21:19.

We urge our readers to study the piece well. It represents a revolution in thinking, not just in music, but life!

Beethoven: Four Overtures for an Heroic Woman

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 19, 2020)

Weve discussed Beethoven’s famous “Leonore” overature in two posts titled “Beethoven and the Heroics” (April 15 & 16). Now, let us discuss the various versions of this beautiful work.

Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, was originally titled Leonore. His passion for the idea of a female hero was so great that he composed four different overtures for it. His first attempt, for the 1805 premiere, was the overture now known as "Leonore No. 2".

For the performances of 1806, he created "Leonore No. 3". It is the greatest of the four overtures, but it tends to overwhelm the opening scenes of the opera. Beethoven cut it back somewhat, for a planned 1808 performance in Prague, with the version now called "Leonore No. 1. For the 1814 revival Beethoven wrote something lighter, which we now know as the Fidelio overture.

The Fidelio Overture is used to today, but Leonore No. 3 is often played as the introduction to Act 3, because it is such a shame to leave it out.

Here is the first of them, Leonore Overture No. 2:

https://youtu.be/VTTqcKI98-8

Here is the second, and to our minds the greatest, Leonore Overture No. 3:

https://youtu.be/SegyB2nlKG8

Here is a scaled back version, Leonore Overture No. 1:

https://youtu.be/PHRKUJNj3tU

Finally, the fourth version, the even more scaled back Fidelio Overture:

https://youtu.be/lGnZkQE1v_w

To put things in perspective, Leonore No. 2 lasts for about 16 minutes, Leonore No. 3 for 14 minutes, Leonore No. 1 for 9 minutes, and the Fidelio Overture for about 6 and 1/2 minutes,

Beethoven decided that Leonore No. 3 tends to overwhelm the opera, but in our hearts, it is still one of his greatest masterworks.

Beethoven's Last Three Piano Sonatas: Op 110 Part 2

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 18, 2020)

Yesterday we discussed an easy analysis of Beethoven's piano sonata No. 31, Op. 110. Now, let us add something more difficult, not musically, but conceptually.

The transition from the second to third movement of this sonata is seamless. The transition from the fugue in the third movement, based on the same series of rising fourths as the very opening, and its inversion, may seem like a simple mechanical process, but inversion also plays a key role in physical science, and in philosophy.

What comes in between?

In between the two fugues, Beethoven repeats something that preceded the right-side-up fugue, his "Arioso Dolente". This profound movement quotes the aria "Est ist Vollbracht", from Bach's “Saint John's Passion”.

Jesus said this phrase, as he is about to expire. The usual translation is: "It is finished". But a better one would be: "It is accomplished", or, "It is fulfilled." Jesus is lamenting his imminent demise, but at the same time turning it upside down, inverting it into the fulfillment of a prophecy, that shall liberate humanity. This is captured in the aria. The singer first starts out quoting Jesus' words: "Es ist Vollbracht", but then bursts into a fast section singing his praises:

It is accomplished!
What comfort for all suffering souls!
The night of sorrow
now reaches its final hours.
The hero from Judah triumphs in his might
and brings the strife to an end.
It is accomplished!

We include a complete version of the Bach:

https://youtu.be/bAYqS70BvdQ

The third movement of op. 110 echos that profound sentiment from the Aria. The second fugue which follows, must grow in a triumphant manner, "bit by bit with new life."

The sonata ends with a triumphant integration of the sonata form established by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, with the older, and rediscovered ideas of J.S. Bach and Handel.

Here is a short audio to help with our explanation: https://drive.google.com/…/1Y_cJulAL8lY-ig9rvOVgG75fNm…/view

Here’s the complete performance of Beethoven’s Op. 110 by Rudolf Serkin:

https://youtu.be/eo013NCfiz0

1. Movement 1 0:00
2. Movement 2 6:30
Allegro Molto
3. Adagio and recitative 8:38
4. Klagender Gesang 10:21
Arioso dolente
5. Fugue 12:22
6. Arioso- but losing strength 14:50
7. Fugue inverted 17:10

Beethoven's last three piano sonatas, Part 1: Op. 110

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 17, 2020)

Beethoven's last three piano sonatas, Opus 109, 110, and 111, are the height of piano music. They transcend the instrument, and elevate it to a level of the sublime. All three of them will be performed during the Foundation's 24-hour Beethoven birthday celebration on December 16th (https://www.ffrcc.org/beethoven-forever). So, we will take the opportunity to give you an outline of these great works. Op 111 has been discussed previously (July 13 & 14, 2020 posts). So, let us approach Piano Sonata No. 31 in Ab Major, Op. 110.

On the most elementary level, the sonata examines a basic sequence of intervals. Look at the opening. Despite a beautiful melody, what leaps out at us is a sequence of rising fourths. Despite appearances, the essential movement is C, Ab-Db, Bb-Eb.

Ab to Db, and Bb to Eb are both fourths. A less audible fourth, C to F follows. That gives a series of fourths, ascending the Ab major scale, Ab Bb C. (See example 1). Try playing those simple notes on the piano or singing them along with the recording.

Later, Beethoven abstracts that same sequence of fourths into the subject of a fugue. The answer, as usual, begins a fifth above, at Eb. (See example 2)

While Mozart seized upon Bach's fugues powerfully, after his studies in 1782, Beethoven went even further, and integrated fugue into the modes of his own era, such as sonata form, rondo form, theme and variations, etc. Part of what made this work, was what you have just seen here, grasping the intervallic processes that underlie both the so-called classical, and baroque forms.

Inversion was a key property of Bach's music, and Beethoven makes that very clear here, by beginning the fugue again, but this time by inverted, descending fourths, D-A, C-G, B-F#, in a very different key, G major. Beethoven identifies it as the inversion of the first fugue, and at the same tempo, and gaining, "bit by bit, new life." (See example 3).

Well, that is a very neat formula, but does it really explain what is going on here?

Stay tuned!

Here’s a performance of the first movement of the Op. 110 by the great Rudolf Serkin:

https://youtu.be/V89Z1z9rYqc

Folk-song Derived Music for Flute and Piano

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 16, 2020)

In previous posts, we discussed some of Beethoven’s folk songs that he composed from many nations. The bulk of these songs, numbering 179 in total, were from Irish, Scottish, English and Welsh folk songs, many at the request of the Scottish publisher and music collector, George Thomson.

In 1786 Scotland's national poet Robert Burns, collaborated with James Johnson to create the "Scots Musical Museum". Several editions were published, and by 1803 it grew to 600 folk songs, about a third of them contributed by Burns, who also edited the collection.

Burns also collaborated with George Thomson, on “A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs”, published from 1793 to 1818, which adapted Scottish folk-songs with classical arrangements.

When Burns suggested that Thomson should publish arrangements of Irish melodies, he offered to supply the poetry for them. Thomson received melodies from friends in Ireland. Burns describes having to master singing the melodies in order to come up with the right poetry. He changed the music, and added to it, in conjunction with his poetry. Sometimes he was given only fragments, and made a complete melody from them. Thus, they are "songs" by Robbie Burns.

Robert Burns set poetry for some of the Irish tunes but died in 1796 at the age of 37. Thomson then secured words from several poets both known and unknown.

Thomson engaged composers such as Pleyel and Haydn, and contacted Beethoven in 1803. In 1809 Beethoven set the first tunes to music. Beethoven did complain to Thomson about not being supplied the texts, arguing that he could not compose properly without them, as Thomson added them after the compositions are finished. While the texts supplied by Thomson are often seen as substandard, it may not be entirely Thomson's fault. The poetry may have been written after the musical compositions were completed.

Burns wanted fiddle and guitar (or cittern) accompaniment. Thomson wanted more art song-like settings that uses piano.

Beethoven's settings are ingenious in that the parts for cello and violin are independent, and add to the music. But they also work with just piano. Thomson complained that Beethoven's piano parts were too difficult, and asked him to recompose them. Beethoven retorted:

“I am not accustomed to retouching my compositions; I have never done so, certain of the truth that any partial change alters the character of the composition. I am sorry that you are the loser, but you cannot blame me, since it was up to you to make me better acquainted with the taste of your country and the little facility of your performers.”

Despite his seemingly surliness, Beethoven's dedication to the project was intense. Sending these consignments back and forth from Edinburgh and Vienna when the Napoleonic wars were at their height proved to be immensely difficult. Beethoven originally sent three copies by different routes and then another a year later. None reached Thomson until about July 1812 and when it finally did, it appears to have been sent via Malta! Beethoven later found that sending shipments to Edinburgh via Paris proved to be the most effective route. The most difficult link in the chain was the English Channel. The only way of sending consignments at the time was to enlist the aid of smugglers.

Why did Beethoven devote so much of his energies to these settings? Barry Cooper, a world authority on Beethoven, rejects financial gain as Beethoven’s motive, to say “he was tapping into the immortality of time-honoured songs from the past, so as to create with Thomson a folk song monument for future generations.”

FOLK SONG FOR INSTRUMENTS

The Ten National Airs with Variations for Flute and Piano, Op. 107, were composed by Beethoven between 1818 and 1819 and published in 1819. These were one of several sets of compositions that Beethoven wrote that are folk-derived, and they were some of the last compositions written for George Thomson.

The first of the ten sets of variations uses an Alpine air (E flat), "Ich bin a Tiroler Bua".

The second set uses the Scottish "Bonny Laddie, Highland Laddie".

The third set uses "Volkslied aus Kleinrussland", a Ukrainian dance, as the main theme.

The fourth set employs the popular "St. Patrick's Day."

The fifth set, "A Madel, ja a madel", includes great difficulty for both instruments.

The Sixth set resembles (in mood), Beethoven's Sixth Symphony ("Pastoral").

In the seventh set, Beethoven uses a popular Ukrainian tune “Ikhav Kozak za Dunaj” known in Germany as "Schöne Minka."

The eighth set uses the five variations on "O Mary, at thy Window be". They are solidly conceived and quite inventive.

The ninth and tenth sets are based on a Scottish tune, "O, Thou art the Lad of my Heart", and a march, "The Highland Watch."

The musical settings are simpler than Beethoven’s other compositions, especially in light of the fact that these were written just before his “Diabelli Variations”, which were composed between 1819-1823. Nonetheless, the music is delightful, and some of the variations tends toward brilliant, with piano part that echos some of his late piano sonatas.

Here are eight of them with score from an unknown LP:

https://youtu.be/OO99hRqT4ew

Beethoven’s Italian songs

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 13, 2020)

Beethoven has three main teachers. In previous posts, we talked about his relationship with Haydn (October 21, 22, 23, 2020) and Albrechtsberger (October 26, 2020). Beethoven’s third main teacher is Antonio Salieri. Beethoven asked for and presented to Salieri many vocal compositions, a great many of them Italian songs. On these pieces, Salieri showed Beethoven how to handle the verbal accents, expressions and rhythm. These lessons were valuable for Beethoven’s later works.

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), a German composer and friend to Beethoven, said the following about Beethoven’s relationship to his teachers:

“I knew them all well; all three valued Beethoven highly, but were also of one mind touching his habits of study. All of them said Beethoven was so headstrong and self-sufficient (selbstwollend) that he had to learn much through harsh experience which he had refused to accept when it was presented to him as a subject of study.”

While that might be true, Beethoven, who is always cost-conscience, thought enough of these three masters to pay for lessons with them.

Many of these early Italian studies are destroyed. But the later works survived. For example, Beethoven’s “24 Polyphonic Italian Songs”, WoO 99, are gorgeous. Here’s one of them “Fran Tuttle Le Pene”:

https://youtu.be/ikIyWrte0E8

Some of the songs, such as his “La Partenza” (WoO 124), composed in 1795, could almost be by Mozart:

https://youtu.be/3yvKhA_DZJU

Others, such as his “In questa tomba oscura”, WoO 133, published in 1808, is more complex and better known. This particular song is the result of a musical challenge issued in 1807-1808, inviting composers to set music to a poem by Giuseppe Carpani (1752-1825), an Italian poet resident in Vienna.

In questa tomba oscura
Lasciami riposar;
Quando vivevo, ingrata,
Dovevi a me pensar.

(In this dark grave
Let me rest;
When I lived, ungrateful,
You should have thought of me.)

Sixty-three composers obliged, but Beethoven's setting is the most memorable and favoured version. We can hear the development of the song as it transitions from calm, slow chords to thunderous quaver-movement and back again. Here is a performance by the great baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and pianist Jörg Demus.

https://youtu.be/TDImeBCWmvI

Beethoven—A Fifth of Humor

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 12, 2020)

Thus may seem like sacrilege to some of our readers, but this improvised argument to Beethoven's Fifth from the 1950's, by Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray was done in one take, so they obviously knew the music. You can tell for sure what their gestures mean!

https://youtu.be/EEhF-7suDsM

Beethoven's Revolutionary Seventh Symphony: 4th Movement.

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (November 10, 2020)

Beethoven twice referred to his Seventh Symphony as "one of his best". But even though the second movement became an instant hit, and the entire symphony had repeat performances, there were those, even among his friends, who simply could not understand it.

If the first movement was a cause of such confusion, the fourth was even more so. It has been characterized as a "whirling dance", "Bacchanalian fury", "strange and furious," and even as the product of a drunken state.

We hear something else in this movement. As mentioned before, the tide was beginning to turn against Napoleon at the time that the symphony was composed. The fourth movement’s exuberance has a joyous and victorious quality to it. It also has a quality of military with the brass and timpani. However, many performances take the tempo way too quickly and convey the idea of a Bacchanalian revel. Thus the rhythmic incisiveness of the main theme in the strings is lost. "Allegro con Brio" means "happy, and with spirit", not necessarily "faster". The movement is in duple time, and Beethoven puts an “sfz” on the second beat of the opening measures for the strings, which is matched by the timpani. At too fast a tempo, it becomes a blur. So, we chose a somewhat slower version.

The main theme of the movement comes from one of Beethoven's Irish song settings, "Save me from the Grave and Wise”, composer in 1810. Although the words to the song were not set until after Beethoven composed the music, he was informed of the spirit of the song. By 1813, when he was composing the symphony, the words might have become known to him. They certainly fit Beethoven's irreverend spirit.

Save me from the grave and wise

Save me from the grave and wise,
For vainly would I tax my spirit,
Be the thing that I despise,
And rival all their stupid merit.
On! My careless laughing heart,
O dearest Fancy let my find thee,
Let me but from sorrow part,
And leave this moping behind me.

Refrain
Speak ye wiser than the wise,
Breathe aloud your welcome measure,
Youthful Fancy well can prize
The words that counsel love and pleasure.

Is it merry look, or speech,
Or bounding step that thus displeases?
Go and graver movements teach
To yon light goss'mer on the breezes:
Go where breathes the opening spring,
And chide the flowers for gaily blowing,
Tell the linnet not to sing
In jocund May, when noon is glowing.
Hence with wisdom, dull and drear,
And welcome folly at a venture:
Cease my song, a sound I hear,
The planxty comes, the dancers enter.
In yon throng, if I should see
Some gallant, giddy, gay adviser,
Who trough life might counsel me,
He indeed might make me wiser.

You will hear the main theme of the fourth movement in the piano part at 0:38 in this recording of that song (Beethoven ‐ 12 Irish Songs WoO 154, No 8, “Save Me From the Grace and Wise”)

https://youtu.be/x7GAVDjWHoo?list=TLPQMDgxMTIwMjA09vdB5b1Whg

Here is the fourth movement of the symphony:

https://youtu.be/gRZri7FPwXk

If you wish, you can follow the faster version with the score, at 26:37: https://youtu.be/JMrm9jEo_Pk