Beethoven: Classicism, Romanticism, Etc.
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[Some Background] Beethoven's famous ninth symphony premiered in 1824 but the seeds of this monumental work had been planted in his head for years. Beethoven had always been inspired by Enlightenment Era artists. As a teenager, he went to hear lectures by Immanuel Kant at the University of Bonn, Beethoven's hometown. He was also a fan of the German poet, Friedrich Schiller. He "kept that volume of poetry with him, always intending to set to music a poem that particularly appealed to him, "An die Freude" (Ode to Joy)" (John Suchet, Beethoven: The Man Revealed). Therefore, Beethoven had been planning the most revolutionary to-date symphony for years, it is also plausible that he had known for years that he would use singers, something which had never been done in the symphonic form. On July 6th, 1822, Beethoven wrote to his friend, Ferdinand Ries (who was living in London at the time), "Do you have any idea what fee the Harmony Society would pay me for a grand symphony?". They only offered him 50£, which was a rather low amount; especially considering what Beethoven was on the cusp of composing. Of course they couldn't have known that what he was to write would change the symphonic form forever, a work that would influence the Romantic composers for an entire century. So, we'll have to forgive the Harmonic Society for such a paltry offer. [Vienna or Berlin? That is the question.] It was the beginning of 1824, Beethoven had already completed the 9th symphony. Word spread across Vienna that their loved Beethoven had completed a new work, his first symphony in over ten years and that it was a radical new work. Clearly, the "theatre managers of Vienna were falling over themselves to win the concert for their theater" (Suchet). Beethoven had called Vienna his hometown since 1792, one would think that he would naturally want his new symphony to premiere in the city he called home, right? Well, for some reason, he called the symphony to premier in Berlin. One can only theorize why so I won't go into that. As expected, the manager of the Berlin Theater readily accepted Beethoven's proposal and needless to say, the people of Vienna were dumbfounded. What were they to do? Flattery of course, they wrote Beethoven a letter imploring him to premier it in Vienna. Here is some of that letter: "... It is Austria which is best entitled to claim him (Beethoven) as her own. With Mozart and Haydn, the sacred triad in which these names and yours glow as the symbol of the highest within the spiritual realm of tones which sprang from the soil of their fatherland... We beg you to withold no longer... a performance of the latest masterwork of your hands... We know that a new flower glows in the garland of your glorious, still unequalled symphonies.. Do not any longer disappoint the general expectations!... Do not allow these, your latest offspring, some day to appear perhaps as foreigners in their place of birth, introduced by persons to whom you and your mind are alien! Appear soon among your friends, your admirers, your venerators!" (Suchet, Beethoven: The Man Revealed) The flattery from the Viennese did the trick; Beethoven accepted their letter and decided to stay in Vienna, “The letter is very beautiful, it rejoices me greatly!” Beethoven wrote. [The Venue] If one had to guess which venue would premiere the 9th symphony, the Theater an der Wien would be a natural decision. This is where Beethoven had premiered many of his previous works such as the 2nd symphony (April 5, 1803), 3rd symphony “Eroica” (April 7, 1805), Fidelio (November 20, 1805), Violin Concerto (December 23, 1806), 5th and 6th symphonies, Choral Fantasy, Piano Concerto No. 4 (December 2, 1808). However, the previous manage, Baron Braun, was no longer working there. The new manager was Count Palffy. Palffy loved Beethoven’s music but unfortunately Beethoven did not love Palffy. Years ago, Beethoven was giving a recital to one of his patrons and Palffy was in the audience talking to a lady with a disregard for Beethoven who stormed out and yelled, “I will not play for pigs!” (Suchet). That being said, Palffy was extremely generous when he learned about the 9th symphony possibly being premiered at his theater. He gave into Beethoven’s demands to let Beethoven himself choose the conductor (Michael Umlauf) and his friend Ignaz Schuppanzigh to lead. Palffy even offered his theater, musicians, staff as many rehearsals as he wanted at the low price of 1200 florins allowing Beethoven to keep all of the profits (Suchet). Beethoven nevertheless turned it down. When the negotiations with the Theater an der Wien fell through, Beethoven entered talks with the Theater Am Kärntnertor. Upon hearing of this, Palffy upped the ante by offering his theater for zero cost! Beethoven’s mind would not be changed. The Theater Kärntnertor would be the final decision. [Beethoven the Conductor. Beethoven the Tyrant] Beethoven, by now profoundly deaf, decided to conduct this grand symphony. Beethoven who could not carry on conversations or hear the sounds of music, decided to conduct his most radical of symphonies. Something had to be done, so the concert organizers told Beethoven that Michael Umlauf (Beethoven’s friend and renowned conductor) would be on stage with Beethoven but would not interfere too much with his direction. Surprisingly, Beethoven agreed to this plan. There was only time for a mere two rehearsals, the singers complained to Beethoven that he did not understand the human voice and that their parts were almost impossible. Beethoven, true to character, did not compromise on his creation. He told them to sing exactly as he written. “Karoline Unger, the contralto, threw a tantrum. To Beethoven’s face, she called him “a tyrant over all the vocal organs”, and turning to her colleagues said, “Well then, we must go on torturing ourselves in the name of God!”” (Suchet). The four soloists decided that they simply would not sing the nearly “impossible” passages, what would be the harm? Beethoven wouldn’t be able to hear them anyway, they thought. [The Premier] The official announcement of the 9th symphony is as follows: GRAND MUSICAL CONCERT by HERR L. v. BEETHOVEN Which will take place To-morrow, May 7, 1824 In the R. I. Court Theater beside the Kärntnertor First. Grand Overture Second. Three Grand Hymns, with solo and chorus voices Third. Grand Symphony, with solo and chorus voices entering in the Finale on Schiller's song, To Joy The Theater Kärntnertor was full but not with the usual aristocrats and noblemen who usually filled the theaters of Beethoven’s works. They had all left Vienna for vacation in their country homes, enjoying the summer weather. Even Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s greatest and most loyal supporter was away in Olmütz. However, Beethoven’s close group of friends was there. There is some cloudiness over some of the details such as when the uproarious applause took place. Was it at the end of the symphony or at the end of the 2nd movement scherzo? Schindler and Fräulein Unger say that it took place at the end of the performance. However, the pianist who was present, Thalberg, says that it was after the Scherzo. Even the attire of what Beethoven wore that evening is a matter of debate, Alexander Thayer, the great 19th century Beethoven biographer, says that in 1860 Thalberg told him that Beethoven was “dressed in black dress coat, white neckerchief, and waistcoat, black satin small-clothes, black silk stockings, shoes with buckles. He saw after the Scherzo of the 9th symphony how Beethoven stood turning over the leaves of his score utterly deaf to the immense applause, and Unger pulled him by the sleeve, and then pointed to the audience when he turned and bowed. Umlauf told the choir and orchestra to pay no attention whatever to Beethoven’s beating of the time but all to watch him.” (Alexander Thayer, Thayer’s Life of Beethoven). However, Thalberg apparently got Beethoven’s attire description incorrect. Schindler writes that he wore a green coat, “Oh, great master, you do not own a black frock coat! The green one will have to do” (Thayer). I’ll end with the novel-like portrayal of the premier from John Suchet’s Beethoven: The Man Revealed: “The audience fell silent as the mysterious opening chords sounded, a floating cloud of sound, a sound world they had not heard before, yielding to huge affirmative chords from the whole orchestra. They watched, and listened, as Beethoven flailed with his arms to the sounds in his head, and Umlauf directed the musicians who were playing as if their lives depended on it… In unison, in harmony, faultlessly, the music drives to its conclusion. Umlauf held it all perfectly together, singers, chorus and orchestra giving the performance of their lives… Unlauf brought his arms down for the final great chord. It was over. The audience erupted, rose to their feet, cheered and shouted, handkerchiefs and hats waved in the air… Beethoven, oblivious to what was happening, continued to wave his arms, conducting the orchestra he was hearing in his head. Karoline Unger, the contralto who had so berated him in rehearsal, stepped forward. She turned him to face the cheering audience. At that moment, Beethoven knew the gift he had given to the world.” (Suchet) 1. Symphony No. 9 "Choral" - Ludwig Van Beethoven - This is the Symphony that moved me and awed me the most, it was one of the first symphonies I heard, along with Mozart's 40th. Beethoven's 9th was the one that made me say to myself, "This is truly something special". It has and always will be my favorite, forget all the people who say otherwise solely because it's overplayed or the "cliched" choice. It is what it is. Get over it. - Preferred Recordings: I'm an unabashed completist when it comes to the 9th, I own Karajan's 1963 Beethoven Cycle with the Berliner Philharmoniker, it remains for me my favorite version of the 9th, it's not too slow and it's not at breakneck speeds like some of the historically-informed conductors. For my complete thought's on Karajan 1963 9th, I dedicated an entire post to it. 2. Symphony No. 5 - Ludwig Van Beethoven - Another not surprising choice, the "da-da-da-DAAAA" is universally known and overdone in parody, movies, commercials, etc. What's sad is most people will only know the short-short-short-long and none of the remaining 25 minutes or so of symphonic perfection. The first movement is epic, all of it, not just the first notes. The second movements is lyrical and triumphant, the third is a great callback to Mozart and the final movement is pure triumphant joy. - Preferred Recordings: I have to choose the universally praised Carlos Kleiber's 5th from Deutsche Grammophone and I have to agree with its praise, it's rightly the favorite of many including myself. Karajan's 1963 version is also highly recommended, it's tied with Kleiber's in my book. If you like period-instrument, fast tempos, then go for John Eliot Gardiner's Carnegie Hall live performance. I highly recommend it as well, there's an incredibly raw energy in Gardiner's performance. 3. Symphony No. 6 "Tragic" - Gustav Mahler - I'm still new to Mahler, I've yet to hear all of his symphonies. I immediately connected with the symphony, it's among the most structurally tight Mahler symphonies and it's also the darkest. - Preferred Recording: Pierre Boulez/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra 4. Symphony No. 4 - Johannes Brahms - My absolute favorite Brahms piece, if there's one other symphony that I could call perfect other than Beethoven's 5th, it has to be Brahms' 4th. It's very tightly constructed, yet it never feels overdone, for all of its preciseness it never lacks in pure emotional power. The first movement is one of the darkly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard, ending in an unforgettable climax. It's an innovative symphony that ironically looks to the masters of the past for inspiration, i.e., the phenomenal passacaglia 4th movement. - Preferred Recordings: Carlos Kleiber's 4th is th best version of Brahms' 4th, bar none in my opinion. It's justly one of the best recordings of all time. 5. Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" - Ludwig Van Beethoven - What more can be said about the Eroica? It changed the symphony and classical music forever, it pretty much single-handedly ushered in the Romantic era. The 1st-2nd movements is one of the greatest duos in history, if not the greatest. - Preferred Recordings: My favorite version is actually the historically-informed version by David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, something about the fast tempos really goes well with this symphony, even the slow Funeral March, ironically. Furthermore, it's not played with period-instruments, so you get the richness of sound that comes with a modern orchestra and instruments. Also highly recommended is Karajan's 1963 version with the Berliner Philharmoniker. After my top 5, it becomes difficult to list 6 - 10 in any kind of preferential order, so I'll just list my remaining 5 in no particular order: - Bruckner Symphony 9 - Preferred Recording: Carlo Maria Giulini/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Mahler Symphony 2 - Preferred Recording: Otto Klemperer/Philharmonia Orchestra - Mahler Symphony 9 - Preferred Recording: Claudio Abbado/Berliner Philharmoniker - Mahler Symphony 4 - Preferred Recording: George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra - Beethoven Symphony 7 - Carlos Kleiber/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Honorable Mentions: Franz Schubert - Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished", No. 9 "The Great" Johannes Brahms - Symphonies No. 1, 2, 3 Anton Bruckner - Symphonies No. 4, 7, 8 Tchaikovsky - Symphonies 4, 5, 6 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphonies No. 38, 40 Antonin Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 Hector Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique If you're a fan of the historic old-school recordings of your favorite classical music composers, you MUST pay a visit to PristineClassical.com, I just discovered them by reading some glowing reviews online in various forums and websites and I don't know how I got by without them. I recently bought Furtwangler's intense 1942 historic performance of Beethoven's Ninth symphony in Berlin. For a while now, I had this Mp3 version of that symphony from Amazon.com, the sound quality is exactly what you'd expect from a radio broadcast recording of a 76 year old performance, there is ample amounts of hiss, static, coughs in the audience, and the loudest parts overwhelm the microphones and it sounds very harsh. A couple of days ago, I downloaded the same symphony from Pristine Classical and what a world of difference their remastering made. The loudest parts are handled well, a good amount of the coughs are removed, and the overall sound is just great for a recording that old. It's truly like hearing the recording for the first time, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Everything I said is true for the 1952 Toscanini recording of Beethoven's Ninth with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The story is the same, I just today downloaded the "Ambient Stereo FLAC" recording and once again, the sound quality is leaps and bounds above anything you'll find on Amazon. I also must add that none of the warmth that you get from an old recording is lost, it still sounds like an old performance, only in the best sound possible. I'm gonna reiterate my point, if you're a fan of the historic old-school recordings but not so much of the sound quality, you owe it to yourself to give Pristine Classical a chance, you won't be disappointed. - Beethoven's 9th Symphony - Toscanini 1952 NBC Symphony Orchestra (I downloaded the "Ambient Stereo FLAC") - Beethoven's 9th Symphony - Furtwangler 1942 Berliner Philharmoniker (I downloaded the "Mono 16-Bit FLAC") - Here is what "Pristine Classical" has to say about their "Ambient Stereo" technology. Click "Read More" to your right for tips on downloading and music-file conversion (FLAC, MP3, AIFF, etc.) To be clear, I am referring to the 9th from Herbert Von Karajan's 1963 Beethoven Cycle with Deutsche Grammophon. I'll jump right into what I consider the deal-breaker for Beethoven's Ninth symphony: The first movement, "Allegro Ma Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso". For others, it's the Finale and I can certainly understand that. However, for myself, the first movement sets the tone of the entire symphony. Not to mention that it's such an amazing movement that others have called it a veritable symphony in and unto itself. It's extremely difficult to perfectly capture the weight, depth and emotion that the first movement has to offer. Not to downplay the Finale in any way, but we know what the Finale is about, it's clearly written out in Schiller's words, "Joy (Freude)", pure triumphant jubilation. The first movement is more complex, from the deeply enigmatic opening notes that explode into one of the most majestically terrifying openings in all of music. Yet, despite that intensely powerful opening, the movement descends into a more mysterious mood, it's as if it's finding its way, occasionally finding itself when the majestic opening theme is reintroduced again a couple times through false recapitulations until it all comes to a head in the last couple minutes in a well-deserved climax that it has been fighting to obtain throughout the entire course of the movement. I believe that forward movement is key to achieving this, and that is something that is just lacking in the slower 9th's out there. Yes, with these slow-tempo interpretations, you definitely feel the power, there is no question about that, but it is at the expense of the forward movement which is so intrinsic to this movement (and entire symphony in my opinion). It is the glue that holds together its mystery and raw power. On to the more modern interpretations that are in the "Historically Informed Performances" category, like Zinman, Gardiner, Chailly, Vanska (and Abbado to a lesser extent in his 2000 cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic). Before continuing, I don't want to be misunderstood, I'd like to make clear that I'm solely referring to Beethoven's 9th. I adore Zinman's "Eroica" symphony, and in general I really enjoy the HIP performances (I own recordings from the above-mentioned conductors). However, Beethoven's 9th is a different animal, the fast tempos of Zinman and Chailly certainly excel in the forward movement that I was talking about, but the raw power is toned down and the mystery is almost non-present. It seems that there is a compromise one has to make, slower tempos that forgo the forward movement for more power and mystery and vice versa for the faster performances. Yet, Karajan's 1963 Ninth is at just the right tempo to keep all of these elements, it's faster than Klemperer, Bernstein, and Bohm, but not as brisk as the HIP performances, it's like Goldilock's porridge: just right. Obviously, there can be no complaining about the virtuoso playing from the 1960's Berlin Philharmonic in its prime. The raw power of the first movement is in full force, yet it never goes so fast that it sacrifices any of the mysteriousness, it slows down just enough in all the right places and the has the all-important forward movement that keeps it all together. All of the criteria that the first movement has to meet is met beautifully in Karajan's performance. - Other Thoughts on Karajan's 1963 Ninth Symphony - - Just because Karajan's tempo is pretty fast, that doesn't mean he applies the fast tempo uniformly throughout. For example, the Adagio is at a decent 16:28, it still retains all of its romantic expressiveness without being too indulgent like Bernstein's "Ode To Freedom" Adagio which comes in at 20:15 (!!). The HIP performances are the opposite, they apply their fast tempos to the Adagio a bit too much in my opinion, I feel this takes away much of the expressiveness. I just can't fully appreciate a 12 minute Adagio. To be completely fair, I do not feel that Karajan's 1963 Adagio is best one out there, I think a perfect time for it is somewhere in between Karajan's 16:28 and Bernstein's 20:15, Ferenc Fricsay's 18:00 Adagio is pretty much the best one I've heard yet, followed by Karajan's 1977 Ninth. - Please note that the Wiener Singverein Chorus does take a back seat to the orchestra. Recording a balanced Finale is known for being a formidable task, and it's understandable that either the orchestra or the singers will be somewhat muffled comparatively. - The Scherzo does not have repeat, this is a bit disappointing to me since I very much enjoy the Scherzo and I would have welcomed the repeat. - Also concerning the Scherzo, the timpani doesn't have the power that I would have liked it to have, it sounds a bit dull and muffled. Of course, this isn't a fault to the performance, just the sound quality and placement of the mic. I would have liked to hear the timpani more prominently like in Szell or Muti's 9th. Please Leave A Comment, Let Me Know Your Thoughts! Here are some interesting thoughts on Beethoven's music and his fifth symphony, by the extremely influential music critic of the 18th and 19th century, E.T.A. Hoffmann, I'll just transcribe it verbatim, as follows: "When music is discussed as an independent art, should it not be solely instrumental music that is intended, music that scorns every aid from and mixing with any other art (poetry), music that only expresses the distinctive and unique essence of this art? It is the most romantic of all arts, and we could almost say the only truly romantic one because its only subject is the infinite. Just as Orpheus’ lyre opened the gates of the underworld, music unlocks for mankind an unknown realm—a world with nothing in common with the surrounding outer world of the senses. Here we abandon definite feelings and surrender to an inexpressible longing. . . Thus Beethoven’s instrumental music opens to us the realm of the monstrous and immeasurable. Glowing rays shoot through the deep night of this realm, and we sense giant shadows surging to and fro, closing in on us until they destroy us, but not the pain of unending longing in which every desire that has risen quickly in joyful tones sinks and expires. Only with this pain of love, hope, joy—which consumes but does not destroy, which would burst asunder our breasts with a mightily impassioned chord—we live on, enchanted seers of the ghostly world! Romantic taste is rare, romantic talent even rarer, and perhaps for this reason there are so few who are able to sweep the lyre with tones that unveil the wonderful realm of the romantic. Haydn grasps romantically the human in human life; he is more accommodating, more comprehensible for the common man. Mozart laid claim more to the superhuman, to the marvelous that dwells in the inner spirit. Beethoven’s music wields the lever of fear, awe, horror, and pain, and it awakens that eternal longing that is the essence of the romantic. Thus he is a purely romantic composer, and if he has had less success with vocal music, is this because vocal music excludes the character of indefinite longing and represents the emotions, which come from the realm of the infinite, only by the definite affects of words? . . . What instrumental work by Beethoven confirms this all to a higher degree than the profound Symphony [No. 5] in C Minor, a work that is splendid beyond all measure. How irresistibly does this wonderful composition transport the listener through ever growing climaxes into the spiritual realm of the infinite. Nothing could be simpler than the two-measure main idea of the first Allegro, which, in unison at first, does not even define the key for the listener. The character of apprehensive, restless longing contained in this movement is made even plainer by the melodious subsidiary theme. The breast that is oppressed and alarmed by intimations of things monstrous, destructive, and threatening wheezes for air with wrenching gasps, but just then a friendly, luminous figure appears and brings light into the dark night (the lovely theme in G major [m. 180- ] that earlier had been intimated by the horn in Eb major). How simple is this theme—let that be said again—that the master places as the basis of the whole, but how wonderfully does he derive all the subsidiary and transitional passages from it through rhythmic interrelationships, such that these passages serve little by little to unfold the character of the Allegro, which its main theme only hints at. All these passages are short—almost all consist only of two or three measures—and these are constantly divided among the wind and string instruments. We might think that from such elements only something fragmented or incomprehensible could arise, but instead we receive from them a sense of the whole. So too the constant repetition of passages and single chords, one after the other, which increases the feeling of an unnamable longing that reaches to the highest degree. . . . The inner structure of the movements, their working out, instrumentation, the way they are linked together—everything works toward a single point. But it is especially the inner interrelation among the main themes which produces that unity that alone allows the listener to achieve one single mood. Often this interrelationship becomes clear to the listener if he hears the connection of two movements, or if he discovers in different movements some common bass figure. But a deeper relationship that goes beyond such observations speaks often solely from one mind to another, and it is just this that exists in the two Allegros and the minuet and which splendidly proclaims the self-possessed genius of this master. . . ." Here's the PDF link to where I got this from: http://www.cengage.com/music/book_content/049557273X_wrightSimms_DEMO/assets/ITOW/7273X_INT_07_ITOW_Hoffmann.pdf I'm Going to my First Classical Music Concert! Beethoven's 5th by the Houston Symphony Orchestra5/30/2014 Well, it's finally gonna happen! I'm going to my first live performance of a symphony, M̶i̶l̶e̶y̶ ̶C̶y̶r̶u̶s̶' Beethoven's 5th by the Houston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andres Orozco-Estrada. I'm pretty excited about it, I know it's a completely different experience hearing it live. It's sort of a long way off, in the middle of November, but it'll be worth the wait. http://www.houstonsymphony.org/tickets/production/detail?id=5671 |
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