Wednesday, April 17, 2013

In Search of Beethoven


[Note on Selections: Unless otherwise stated, the works for which links are provided are featured in In Search of Beethoven but the specific performances are not taken from the film.  The film itself is available on DVD and currently on Netflix.]

How fortunate we are to have been born after Beethoven (...and after Edison so that we can listen to Beethoven's music without always having to attend a live concert !) When one gets fed up with venal do-nothing politicians and angry know-nothing dividers and and violence-prone zealots and haters, listening to the sublime and majestic compositions of this musical genius can recharge one's spirit. He believed in man's ultimate ability to triumph over adversity and to bring about a better world. Although beleagured by deafness, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) revolutionized serious music in Western culture. As one of the musicians in the documentary In Search of Beethoven says: "If we had to pick ten things that are great about humanity, there would be several of Beethoven's works amongst them."


Written and directed by Phil Grabsky, In Search of Beethoven (2009) is beautifully photographed - at times almost impressionistic - informative, and well written, drawing on expert commentary from contemporary musicians and composers as well as on Beethoven's letters. The film brings out the humanity, compassion, and ultimate optimism of this troubled cultural icon, who was totally deaf by the end of his life. Best of all, there are more than 60 segments of live performances of Beethoven's works. It is a good introduction to the man who is, by most reckonings, the greatest composer the world has ever seen.

Beethoven moved classical music into the Romantic era with his emotion and his focus on individual expression as well as form.  An admirer of the Liberté, Équalité, Fraternité ideals of the French Revolution, he was a firm believer in the brotherhood of man. His Third Symphony, Eroica, was originally written in honor of Napoleon, whom he saw as bringing these ideals to the rest of Europe. He became disillusioned with the General, though, when Napoleon declared himself Emperor after marching into Vienna. So much for the ideals of the revolution. Beethoven tore a hole in the score for the symphony while erasing Napoleon's name from the dedication. The Third Symphony represented a clear break from earlier classicists such as Hayden and Mozart. Here is a link to the Third Symphony's first movement as played by the New York Philharmonic.
 
Beethoven never married - though not from lack of trying. Unfortunately, he was in the habit of falling in love with women from the aristocracy and could never overcome the class barriers of that time. After all, Beethoven was a non-aristocratic "van" - not an aristocratic "von". He was a virtuoso pianist and wrote sonatas to these loves. Dedicated to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, the hauntingPiano Sonata No. 14 ("Moonlight") is one of Beethoven'smost well-known and popular compositions for the piano.
 
Much of Beethoven's music has an otherworldly, spiritual quality to it - putting us, as it were, in touch with eternity. His Missa Solemnis, Latin for "Solemn Mass", is overtly spiritual and one of his greatest compositions.   He worked on it for four years. Here are links to the sublime "Kyrie" and to the triumphant "Gloria" from the Missa Solemnis.
 
I'm not sure they played anything from the 7th symphony in the film, but it ranks high among my favorite pieces of music. Composer and music author Antony Hopkins says of the symphony: 
"The Seventh Symphony perhaps more than any of the others gives us a feeling of true spontaneity; the notes seem to fly off the page as we are borne along on a floodtide of inspired invention. Beethoven himself spoke of it fondly as 'one of my best works'. Who are we to dispute his judgment?" [Wikipedia]
Here are a couple of links to performances of the Seventh Symphony
 
The Second Movement has been a mainstay in movies since 1934.  Yahoo lists 30 or so.  Among recent movies, you may recognize the Second Movement from 2010's The King's Speech

Is there any more optimistic piece in classical music than the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth symphony? Ode to Joy is the European Union's anthem. What a wonderful thought...

Be embraced, Millions!
This kiss for all the world!
Brothers!, above the starry canopy
A loving father must dwell....
Joy, daughter of Elysium
Thy magic reunites those
Whom stern custom has parted;
All men will become brothers
Under thy gentle wing.

In the movie, there is, of course, a retelling of the famous story of the first performance of the Ninth Symphony, which Beethoven co-conducted. Completely deaf and nearing the end of his life, his back was to the audience as the symphony ended. He had no idea of his listeners' reactions to this daring piece of work. He had no idea that, behind him, the audience had gone wild and was giving him a standing ovation.  A fellow musician came up to Beethoven, touched him gently on the elbow and turned him to see the tumultuous, joyful reaction. In all, Beethoven and his Ninth Symphony received five standing ovations that Vienna night in the May of 1824. As a commentator in the film notes, this was "two more than traditionally accorded the Emperor."

So I'll leave you with two links -



Enjoy and let's hope, as Beethoven did, that "all men will become brothers".


 
Other Stuff
 
There is a qualitative difference, I believe, between the creativity of scientists and that of artists. A scientist's creativity leads to a discovery or theory that could be discovered or formulated at another time in another place. An artist's creativity is unique to the individual. Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz independently invented calculus at about the same time (1660's - 1670's). Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace were both investingating a theory of natural selection in the late 1850's. If Edison had not invented the phonograph, someone would have at a later date. But is there any possibility whatever that someone other than Beethoven could have written his symphonies? I think not.
 
 
 
 

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