Fun
Beethoven
Dear Kay,
So apparently Beethoven’s 250th birthday is this year, which is certainly something to celebrate. Unfortunately, nobody knows his exact birthdate. Which means we can just freestyle it all year long!
This weekend, the Nashville Symphony is throwing a birthday party for Beethoven, and I’m going, and I’m looking forward to hearing some of this composer’s most famous work. Up top is one of the pieces on the program, Symphony No. 3 in E flat major.
So much to savor here. What is it about seeing a group of exquisite musicians all working together to such a glorious end?
Love,
Ann
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I learned to love classical music as a child, thanks to my stepfather. It has provided me with endless joy and calm moments when the world around me is all too stressful. Beethoven has always been my favorite.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful moment!
If you get a chance, please watch “Immortal Beloved”.
Amen to that:)!!!! The ending is heartbreaking!
I read somewhere that by the time of the initial public performance of his 9th (and last) Symphony, his eyesight had failed as well. He had to be turned around to the audience to take a bow amid the cheers. The ending of that symphony, with its choral adaptation of Schiller’s Ode to Joy rocked the world of classical music. I like to think it opened the door to the Romantic Movement, with its challenges to the rigorous boundaries of the earlier Classical style. Also, another wonderful influence in Beethoven’s music was a genius of the century before him – when the music of JSBach was discovered more than a half century after Bach’s death! When you think that Beethoven “heard” music internally, composing some of the most beautiful pieces of music in the Western world, it brings the concept of “living in your own head” to a whole new level!
This is w6nderful….we just saw Beethoven No.6 last night at our local Symphony. Beautiful!—- and this AM I awoke with 6 on my brain.
Woman behind me was knitting. I too love to knit when at Symphony, however last night could not locate my sock knitting. I needed a smallish project for my lap vs. my sweater project. Enjoy!
What a coincidence! I was knitting on an airplane yesterday, and put on the Beaux Arts Trio’s recording of Beethoven’s complete works ( on my iPod)– such a great way to spend a couple of hours! Happy birthday, Herr Beethoven!
Oh, Beethoven is my favorite!! I’m quite jealous but I hope you have a wonderful time, Ann. I’ll be sewing up a baby sweater after work today–that’s fun, too.
Love Beethoven! In college I used to listen to all of Beethoven’s symphonies, 1st through 9th, while writing research papers. I am a weirdo who works best collecting all my research and ideas over the span of about a week, then banging out a 20 pager in one day, with edits the next.
So I associate the 3rd symphony with that feeling of ideas coalescing and progress being made. And finishing to the triumphant 9th was always fun!
What a lovely recording. Over the past few years I have also enjoyed listening how different directors present us with different versions of Beethoven’s Symphonies – the one that I think is most interesting (and my current favorite) is John Eliot Gardener, who plays it using an orchestra of period instruments. Check out his version of the same symphony… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co4AZz1z3NA