Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

[Brian]

Love this anecdote from BIS Records owner Robert von Bahr about the time that he recorded a live "Missa Solemnis" charity concert with Antal Dorati:

"Oh, how I remember this recording! Sometimes I wake up, sweating. We were sitting in the home of the Berlin Phil and recording this Missa Solemnis by Beethoven. It is a real live recording, with only a short patching session prior to the concert, which means that I had to guess what was going to go wrong at the performance. Anyway, everything went well, surprisingly well, considering that the orchestra, the so-called European SO, was put together of members from a huge number of orchestras, all in the name of IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War), until we came to that fantastic violin solo, wonderfully played by Thomas Brandis, concert-master of the Berlin Phil. There in the middle, someone made an unusually ugly and loud cough. I, who was sitting in the control room with nerves outside of my body, lost it and screamed an expletive, completely forgetting that the control room had a small opening to the hall. Thankfully, I had just those few bars from the patching, so it could be repaired, but then people were discussing who on earth was shouting "STOP" from the back of the audience. Well, it wasn't "STOP", and it wasn't from the audience."

[Madiel]

Oh that's hilarious! 

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Latest #CDReview on ClassicsToday: Mitsuko Uchida's Second Beethoven Concerto Cycle



Mitsuko Uchida's slightly-under-the-radar cycle of LvB Piano Concertos w/the @BRSO &
the artless Kurt Sanderling (@deccaclassics) is one of my favorites, therefore her new
such cycle roused my interest...

[DavidW]

Oh so Jens works for Classics Today now! interesting.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Oh so Jens works for Classics Today now! interesting.

Oh, but for more than 3 years now. Rather under the radar, apparently. ;-) They kindly took me in pretty much right after the Forbes column was put on ice. The price of admission: Not to contradict David H. in public. (I'm kidding...?)

[DavidW]

Oh, but for more than 3 years now. Rather under the radar, apparently. ;-) They kindly took me in pretty much right after the Forbes column was put on ice. The price of admission: Not to contradict David H. in public. (I'm kidding...?)

Oh lol I didn't realize that was you!

[George]

Oh, but for more than 3 years now. Rather under the radar, apparently. ;-) They kindly took me in pretty much right after the Forbes column was put on ice. The price of admission: Not to contradict David H. in public. (I'm kidding...?)

Still waiting to see you in one of Hurwitz's youtube video. I suspect you are easier on the eyes.

[Jo498]

That's a rather low hurdle to clear, like a less grating voice.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Still waiting to see you in one of Hurwitz's youtube video. I suspect you are easier on the eyes.

We're separated by an ocean, so that's difficult to do. Well, except if he started to Zoom me in, or something of that sort. Jed Distler and I were planning to do an episode of "Between the keys" from my place, in Vienna, but that was before our friend Covid-19 nixed all travel plans.

Yes, I might be easier on the eyes. But that shouldn't distract from the music! 

[Brahmsian]

For the longest time now, Beethoven's Eroica has been my favourite of the symphonies.  hasn't always been the case, but it has been now for quite some time.  One of the few symphonies that I can still listen to of his.

Anyway, one of my favourite things about the Eroica is the incredible poignancy of the 2nd movement funeral march contrasted and followed by the energetic, frenetic 3rd movement scherzo.  It is the dramatic switch in moods and pace between these two movements that I enjoy so much.

In many recordings, it seems to be commonplace to "play" the 3rd movement attacca following the end of the 2nd movement.  I know that probably isn't how it is marked to be played in the score, but I always find that very effective and rewarding when it is "recorded" as such.  Attending a live performance and the realization that it isn't "performed" attacca has come as a disappointment to me, as I feel each second of waiting between the end of the 2nd movement and beginning of the 3rd movement to be a huge momentum killer.  That's just me.  In other words, I wish it was marked attacca. 

[André]

That's funny, for me the attacca should be btw the scherzo and finale 

[Jo498]

There is none marked and I don't recall having it heard done on recordings. Maybe a shorter break after the Scherzo but I think I 'd find it a bit irritating not to have a few deep breaths after the funeral march. I think the Beethoven symphony without attacca marking where I have either from listening or imagining the idea of almost no break between movements 3 and 4 is #7.

[Wanderer]

Beethoven Day 2021

Six months after the end of 2020, which marked the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, all nine of his symphonies are performed by nine prestigious European orchestras and conductors. A musical feast to be enjoyed, for the most part, live, from Strasbourg, Vienna, Bonn, Dublin, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Prague, Lugano and Delphi.

The Symphonies :
13:00 : Bonn: Symphony n°1 : Daniel Harding, Mahler Chamber Orchestra
14:00 Dublin: Symphony n°2 : Jaime Martín, RTÉ National Symphonic Orchestra
15:00 Helsinki: Symphony n°3 : Nicolas Collon, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
16:00 Luxembourg: Symphoni n°4 : Gustavo Gimeno, Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg, Sylvia Camarda
17:00 Prague: Symphony n°5 : Steven Mercurio, Czech National Symphony Orchestra
18:00 Lugano: Symphony n°6 : Diego Fasolis, I Barocchisti
19:00 Delphi : Symphony n°7 : Teodor Currentzis , MusicAeterna, Sasha Waltz
20:15: Strasbourg : Symphony n°8 : Marko Letonja, Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg
21:00 Vienna : Symphony n°9 : Karina Canellakis, Wiener Symphoniker


I'm particularly looking forward to the Seventh, to be performed and broadcasted live from the Ancient Theatre of Delphi. 

[Wanderer]

Not just music, but dancing, as well (choreography by Sasha Waltz). For those who did not have the chance to watch it:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (Currentzis/MusicAeterna) from the Ancient Theatre of Delphi (Αρχαίο Θέατρο Δελφών)

[gprengel]

I'd like to share with you my orchestration of one of the very most ingenious Scherzi by Beethoven, Bagatelle for piano Woo 52:

http://gerdprengel.de/Beeth_Woo52_orch.mp3

I wonder why Beethoven never published it ... it would have become an great symphony Scherzo ...

[Madiel]

Most interesting. I had to go listen to the piano original because I wasn't familiar with it or its origin (it's only in the index of Barry Cooper's book, no discussion in the text about how it was meant for the op.10 sonata).

I can certainly hear how it could become orchestral, too, although I think a real orchestra couldn't play quite so fast.

[calyptorhynchus]

I'm looking for a recording of the Harp and Serioso Quartets on period instruments. Can't seem to find one 

[amw]

Eroica Quartet (Harmonia Mundi) has both. Chiaroscuro Quartet recorded Op. 95 on Aparté and Quatuor Turner recorded Op. 74 on Harmonia Mundi.

Op. 59 no. 1 and 2 are the only ones that have yet to be recorded on period instruments. The Mosaïques Quartet recorded all of the middle string quartets to accompany their existing sets of the early and late quartets, but release date is unknown; the Chiaroscuro Quartet has been contracted to record a complete cycle but it likely won't be finished before 2024.

[calyptorhynchus]

Great thanks, extraordinary, given the number of recordings of these works, how few are pi.

[Maestro267]

How do you prefer to tackle the Quartet Op. 130 and the Grosse Fuge? Treat them as separate works? Listen to 5 movts of Op.130 then the Fuge? Or the whole shebang?