Ludwig Van Beethoven

[ambernector]

Hello Ambernector
If you have time in your schedule, please try to take in a very special Beethoven concert at Cadogan Hall, London on February 9, 2010: Overture Egmont, Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 7. All proceeds to charity

ok thanks. Is this a medical charity by any chance? :happy:

[Music Head]

Didn't even know the guy was still doing gigs.

[Tiggi]

Apparently he has to conduct behind a clear perspex screen, cos his hearing's shot...

[gretedk]

Did you know that as a huge monument, the Beethoven's 9th symphony was built on 1 small interval of a perfect 4th ?
That's called Composition...

[mtthwibrahim]

am I the only one on MD who finds Beethoven bambastic and hollow and would easly takes the likes of Feldman or Shoenberg any day?

[SteveO]

I believe Beethoven only composed one opera ,,,Fidelio ????....which I enjoy as well as his piano pieces ...Moonlight Sonata,etc and symphonies...the 9th stands out for me.

[Leon]

am I the only one on MD who finds Beethoven bambastic and hollow and would easly takes the likes of Feldman or Shoenberg any day?

I'm with you on that one, for the most part. The few Beethoven pieces I enjoy tend to be the ones that are the most un-Beethovenian: the Opus 109 piano sonata, the 4th and 7th Symphonies, etc.

[MarkHenry]

I have attended many concerts of Beethoven music. Rally Beethoven music is heart touching. Is there any live Beethoven concert now a days?

[whitesand]

Beethoven - a real musical genius. I adore all his symphonies! (especially number 5 and 9)

[Lindsay]

Hello everyone

I come to this Forum and this thread as a "newbie", but may I make a couple of observations?

First, yes LvB was an utter genius, but..
Secondly, his genius was not confined to symphonies (listen to his string quartets, especially those from Op. 127 onwards) and you are taken into a completely other world;
Third, mtthwibraham (#13) is right, he could be terribly bombastic, and is so sometimes even in some of his best-known and best-loved works (especially the 9th Symphony);
Fourth, he had some really crass moments - try for example Malbruck s'en va-t-en Guerre - and some of his songs;
Fifth, he never really understood the human voice, or could write for it: to be fair, neither did Bach take any prisoners there; but every single vocal line in Mozart or Schubert, most of Haydn and indeed the best song-writers up to Rogers and Britten, lies easy on the voice.
Sixth, Fidelio, though a splendid piece, is dramatically flawed and difficult convincingly to stage.

A "greatest" composer should surely be able to cover all these bases?

[Light the touchpaper and retire to a safe distance...]

L.