Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

[pjme]

https://www.leconcertolympique.eu/

I hardly ever follow posts on Beethoven, so I'm not sure if the name of Jan Caeyers is (well) known on GMG. Here is a fragment from an interview :

Today, in Belgian newspaper de Standaard:

Your life, you say, has been profoundly transformed by Beethoven. How?

"Every day I wake up with the idea of achieving something higher and that is the ultimate Beethovenian thought. My study, listening to and performing his work, the years of research for his biography: it has led to a quantum leap in my awareness of his work. I sometimes have insights into Beethoven that make me happy. Every day I start with half an hour of study of the Missa Solemnis, which Beethoven wrote together with the Ninth. Reading and listening to that work gives me an inner harmony. I then experience the same kind of sensation as when you smell a rose or a glass of good wine. It makes me happy every morning. Incredibly happy. Whatever happens that day, it is a good day because of that Missa Solemnis."

"In a week Caeyers will kick off Beethoven 27, a large-scale, three-year celebration that builds up to Ludwig van Beethoven's 200th death date in March 2027. The prelude will take place on May 13 in the Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. Then Caeyers, his orchestra Le Concert Olympique and the Vienna Arnold Schoenberg Chor will perform the Ninth Symphony, which is exactly 200 years old on May 7. A week ago he conducted the iconic work in Sarajevo, on the occasion of Bosnia-Herzegovina's candidacy EU membership. Musically it was not top notch, says Caeyers on the stairs to his office. "But the political allure was enormous. The Serbs, probably with Putin's support, are generating tensions again. In his speech, an EU diplomat welcomed the Bosnians, but also urged them to fight  corruption and resolve their internal problems. After Kiev, Sarajevo is the most symbolic place in Europe for Beethoven's message of peace."

dhttps://www.leconcertolympique.eu/

[Herman]

I don't want to be a drag, but there is a funny contradiction in Cayers saying he wants to achieve "something higher every day" and then listening or studying the same piece of music (Missa) every day.

[AnotherSpin]

I don't want to be a drag, but there is a funny contradiction in Cayers saying he wants to achieve "something higher every day" and then listening or studying the same piece of music (Missa) every day.

I don't see contradiction in turning to the same piece and reaching something higher every day. One could say that constant skipping from one piece to another expresses a shallow sliding from one side to the other without allowing one to grasp the heights. Or the depths, if you wish

[Jo498]

If you run 3 miles every day you will also become better, despite doing always the same thing although it's obviously not the most efficient training.

[Florestan]

I don't see contradiction in turning to the same piece and reaching something higher every day. One could say that constant skipping from one piece to another expresses a shallow sliding from one side to the other without allowing one to grasp the heights. Or the depths, if you wish

That's a pro domo sua pleading, what with your listening to 120 Hammerklaviers in the last two weeks. 

[Iota]

I don't see contradiction in turning to the same piece and reaching something higher every day.

I must say, nor do I. Performers/listeners turn to pieces of music again and again, constantly finding new things and fresh inspirations with each visit. It's a well-documented phenomenon.

[AnotherSpin]

I must say, nor do I. Performers/listeners turn to pieces of music again and again, constantly finding new things and fresh inspirations with each visit. It's a well-documented phenomenon.

+1

[prémont]

@Florestan. your inbox is full.

[Florestan]

@Florestan. your inbox is full.

Not anymore.

[DavidW]

I've pruned the exchange. 

Since I personally listen to Mahler's 9th every few weeks, I definitely can't claim that I'm always striving for new experiences!

[brewski]

Tomorrow, May 7, marks the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. For WRTI, the public radio station in Philadelphia, I put down some thoughts on the piece and what's been happening over the last 200 years.

A public thank you to @Gurn Blanston (Mike), who has more recordings of the Ninth than...basically everybody. And I'm also grateful to a college pal, Dr. James Parsons, to my editor at WRTI, the station's editorial director, Nate Chinen, and to Zev Kane, the station's classical program director.

-Bruce

[LKB]

Tomorrow, May 7, marks the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. For WRTI, the public radio station in Philadelphia, I put down some thoughts on the piece and what's been happening over the last 200 years.

A public thank you to @Gurn Blanston (Mike), who has more recordings of the Ninth than...basically everybody. And I'm also grateful to a college pal, Dr. James Parsons, to my editor at WRTI, the station's editorial director, Nate Chinen, and to Zev Kane, the station's classical program director.

-Bruce

The Ninth was one of the first symphonies I actively studied. An aunt had previously introduced me to LvB via Eroica, when I was maybe thirteen. And I ate it up, making it the first of many, many works which would be engraved upon my brain through repeated listening. However, I didn't really study it as such.

The first time I heard the Ninth on LP via Reiner/CSO/RCA ( the only recording that was practical to acquire given my location and the limited options available in the early 1970's ), I knew it was something... beyond. I had to try to understand it better, so I harangued my parents into procuring a study score for me to make use of, notwithstanding the minor detail of not being able to read music. 

Since then I've been privileged to perform the work five times, singing both the baritone solo part and in the chorus.

So from me a vote of thanks, and a figurative Happy Birthday to Beethoven, Schiller and one of the touchstones in Western music. 

[Herman]

One could say that constant skipping from one piece to another expresses a shallow sliding from one side to the other without allowing one to grasp the heights. Or the depths, if you wish

You mean the way those shallow people used to do in the era Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and the next generation lived? Including those composers?

[brewski]

The Ninth was one of the first symphonies I actively studied. An aunt had previously introduced me to LvB via Eroica, when I was maybe thirteen. And I ate it up, making it the first of many, many works which would be engraved upon my brain through repeated listening. However, I didn't really study it as such.

The first time I heard the Ninth on LP via Reiner/CSO/RCA ( the only recording that was practical to acquire given my location and the limited options available in the early 1970's ), I knew it was something... beyond. I had to try to understand it better, so I harangued my parents into procuring a study score for me to make use of, notwithstanding the minor detail of not being able to read music. 

Since then I've been privileged to perform the work five times, singing both the baritone solo part and in the chorus.

So from me a vote of thanks, and a figurative Happy Birthday to Beethoven, Schiller and one of the touchstones in Western music. 

All very cool. And at thirteen!

Is is as difficult to sing — whether solo or chorus — as it sounds? Despite the ease and frequency with which the piece is programmed, the vocal parts don't sound all that gratefully written as [insert other piece here].

And I don't think I've heard that Reiner version. If you have listened to it recently, does it still hold up, or do you prefer others?

-Bruce

[AnotherSpin]

You mean the way those shallow people used to do in the era Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and the next generation lived? Including those composers?

You expressed doubt about the sense of constantly listening to the same piece, while it seems to me that it might make sense. I'm not sure your naming is relevant, certainly no one composes the same piece over and over again.

Of course, I don't expect you to change your mind.

[Iota]

Tomorrow, May 7, marks the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. For WRTI, the public radio station in Philadelphia, I put down some thoughts on the piece and what's been happening over the last 200 years.

A public thank you to @Gurn Blanston (Mike), who has more recordings of the Ninth than...basically everybody. And I'm also grateful to a college pal, Dr. James Parsons, to my editor at WRTI, the station's editorial director, Nate Chinen, and to Zev Kane, the station's classical program director.

-Bruce

I unconditionally love Beethoven's Ninth, every single bar of it. I listened to it many times as a teen, but first really 'heard' it after an inspiring talk on it by Robert Simpson at my school. His passion for music and for others to share that passion, positively flowed out of him ( .. with hindsight nice of him to drop by to a humble little state school in the Home Counties to share his wisdom with a probably largely unsympathetic audience).

[brewski]

I unconditionally love Beethoven's Ninth, every single bar of it. I listened to it many times as a teen, but first really 'heard' it after an inspiring talk on it by Robert Simpson at my school. His passion for music and for others to share that passion, positively flowed out of him ( .. with hindsight nice of him to drop by to a humble little state school in the Home Counties to share his wisdom with a probably largely unsympathetic audience).

How cool that you had brush with Simpson — "six degrees," and all that. And says a lot that he would spend time with students, which composers don't always feel compelled to do.

-Bruce

[Brian]

Since then I've been privileged to perform the work five times, singing both the baritone solo part and in the chorus.

Wow!

How long did you stretch out 'O freunde'? 

[prémont]

Wow!

How long did you stretch out 'O freunde'? 

Not to mention "und freudenvollere"?

[Skogwald]

Here's an interesting talk by Slavoj Zizek on Beethoven's Ninth: https://youtu.be/XM9erS90gTE?si=F3OFIWBBHhFXTJcO

He suggests that there is a sarcastic element to the finale. I don't quite buy it myself but it's an interesting idea.

What do you think?