A while ago I did a post on young and exciting talents and one of the people I mentioned was Jonathan (Okseniuk), who did an AMAZING job conducting Beethoven's final movement to the 5th Symphony. You can see the video HERE.
Since then, Jonathan has skyrocketed in internet fame and even attracted the attention of a real conductor who had him conduct a chamber symphony arrangement of B.'s String Quartet #4, Op.18, No.4. Here's a short video feature on this amazing little guy.
Persimfans is one of the few orchestras which perform without a conductor. Judging from a short video documentary about them (link at bottom) they apparently do a good deal of modern, avant-theatrical repertoire. However in this video they perform Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, the ever-inspiring "Eroica".
I really like the fact that (here at least) they play in a circle facing inwards. Somehow it reminds me of a campfire jamboree... I believe B. would have approved of this kind of unusual "communal" music-making.
From Youtube: PERSIMFANS is a symphony conductorless ensemble organized in Moscow by the Music Laboratory of the School of Dramatic Art Theatre in early 2008. Originally PERvyi SIMFonicheskiy ANSambl bez dirizhera (an abbreviation for The First Conductorless Symphony Ensemble) was founded by the violinist Lev Ceitlin in 1922 right after the Civil War. The first Soviet years were marked by collectivist utopia that in the case of PerSimfAns revealed itself in the idea of providing all its members (up to 150 musicians) with the self-managing authority free from baton/scepter despotism, demonstrating, as Nicholas Slonimsky once wrote, that "in a proletarian state orchestra men do not need a musical dictator". PerSimfAns was striving to make familiar the new-born proletariat with the classical and modern pieces, arranging concerts virtually anywhere: concert halls, working clubs and factories, reaching the widest possible audience, inspiring dozens of imitators in other Soviet cities as well as in Paris, Leipzig and New York and wining worldwide acclaim from such collaborators as Prokofiev, Milhaud, Myaskovsky, Zecchi, Petri etc., including even Klemperer. In 1933 despite its lasting fame the ensemble was forced to halt its activity, thus indicating the end of pure socialist idealism and anticipating total dictatorship of Stalinist regime.
As back in the 1920s, today PerSimfAns consists of the highly acclaimed orchestras members and Moscow conservatory teachers, however nowadays its concerts include not exclusively conductorless performance of symphonic pieces, but the reconstruction of the original noise-ensembles adjusted to their authentic repertoire, ballet troupe staging a forgotten Prokofiev "Trapèze" ballet , litmontage, documentary video montage etc. PerSimfAns brings into public focus rare musical pieces (i.e. "First Concert" by A. Mossolov (1927), "Metal March" by G. Lobachev (1928), "On the Dneprostroi" by J. Meituss (1932), "Intégrations" by I. Wyschnegradsky (1969) etc.) as well as bizarre versions of the famous ones (i.e. "Die Zauberflöte Overture" (Soviet edition for cinemas, clubs and variety from 1930) or even compositions by the contemporary composers (such as Pavel Karmanov or "Vezhlivyi Otkaz" (The Polite Denial) rock-band). In 2010 PerSimfAns is planning to perform Beethovens "Third Symphony", one of the symbolic landmarks in the early Soviet repertoire."
Symphony No.3 in E flat major, op.55 'Eroica' (1805)
I usually make it a rule not to post a work unless all the movements are available (or at the very least the 1st movement) so when I came across a performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto Op.61 which was missing the 1st movement I hadn't planned on posting about it - but after watching I was so impressed with this performance I decided that just the 3rd movement alone was worth featuring. The featured violinist, Chee-Yun Kim, has a great tone and articulation and the orchestra give a committed reading. Apparently she's also appeared on TV on a show called "Curb Your Enthusiasm"...
Allmusic: "The second movement takes a place among the most serene music Beethoven ever produced. Free from the dramatic unrest of the first movement, the second is marked by a tranquil, organic lyricism. Toward the end, an abrupt orchestral outburst leads into a cadenza, which in turn takes the work directly into the final movement. The genial Rondo, marked by a folk-like robustness and dancelike energy, makes some of the work's more virtuosic demands on the soloist."
Though I have posted a good chunk of my own sequenced versions of Beethoven's works arranged/transcribed for guitar, there are of course many great live performances - among them this fine set of Bagatelles transcribed and performed by David Pavlovits.
What the heck, here's my arrangement of Wellington's Seige arranged for guitar. Adapted from Wellington's Victory, or the Battle of Vittoria op. 91, for Piano and Two Cannons, Hess 97..
(Shootin' starts at 2:45)
Modified and adapted from an original sequence by Mark S. Zimmer from The Unheard Beethoven.
The Arthur Rubinstein 13th International Piano Master Competition was recently held and most of the performances were uploaded to Youtube. Here are some of the best Beethoven performances. Today will be the early Beethoven works and tomorrow I'll post a playlist of the later works...
Beethoven's piano sonatas grew in complexity and depth as the cycle of 32 progressed. The last dozen or so could be called absolute masterpieces of piano music, with the latter half of that group rising to a level that often inspires awe and wonderment. This work, though sometimes overshadowed by the mighty "Hammerklavier" Sonata, and the last, the C minor, Op. 111, seems quite as impressive as these better-known works. This unusual work, thematically threadbare at the outset, is a great and deeply profound composition, whose fugal finale achieves the highest keyboard art. This composition opens with a gentle, slow idea of strong spiritual character, the music sounding mesmeric, tranquil, chorale-like, intimate. Its fabric consists of many threads, but on the surface there is little of actual substance, at least from the standpoint of musical analysis. Yet this lovely but seemingly unpromising opening contains the seeds of this movement's rich thematic and harmonic material. The latter half of the first subject is borrowed from the Largo second movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 88, in G major. At the time Beethoven was writing this sonata, he was suffering the first bouts of the illness that would take his life six years later. The serene, rather valedictory mood of the first movement (Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo) may reflect his sense of mortality, of an impending doom. The second subject is lively, but in all its elements seems to be on the descent, expressing, perhaps the end of a journey. The development introduces some tension and subtly disrupts the serenity, without, however, essentially altering the general mood of tranquility.
The second movement (Allegro molto) is short and jovial. Or is it? It certainly starts off with a happy demeanor, but that temperament is periodically interrupted by a ponderous ritardando, which finally overtakes the direction and character of the piece. The third movement, marked Adagio ma non troppo, is somber, bordering on the funereal. This ponderous, dark music may reflect the composer's deepest doubts and disappointments. The finale begins without pause after the Adagio. Its theme, almost Bach-like in its contentedness and fugal character, sounds serene, expressing, perhaps, the composer's acceptance of his fate. This is a movement of great subtlety and beauty, and its structure is masterful and original. The middle section is quiet and dark, its mood looking back to the darkness of the Adagio. Suddenly the piano unleashes ten fateful chords in a slow crescendo. The main theme then reappears and struggles for a time with the dominant mood of darkness. Eventually it gains strength, transforming the movement into a triumphant, ecstatic, radiant utterance.
Plain Dealer File: "Spencer Myer, a native of North Ridgeville, won first prize Sunday in the New Orleans International Piano Competition. He is shown here accepting the audience's applause after performing with the Cleveland Orchestra in the finals of the 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition, in which he won fourth prize."
More piano music today featuring Beethoven highlights from the 2008 20th Annual New Orleans International Piano Competition. Each of these videos features a (longish) infomercial by the sponsor (Hall Piano Company), followed by a Beethoven piece and some other works in the performance recital. I put links below to go directly to the Beethoven sonatas, but the other works are also well worth checking out.
Not too long ago I featured Valentina Lisitsa's exquisite rendition of Fur Elise here. Ms. Lisitsa has a huge and wonderful Youtube channel featuring hours of her great pianistic ability, and so here's a "small" collection of her Beethoven recorded in Hannover, Germany, Dec 2009.
"The Vale of Clwyd" (Welsh: Dyffryn Clwyd) is a folk song arranged by Beethoven as part of 26 Welsh Songs WoO.155 (1810). I've never heard of it but when I looked it up on the web I immediately knew B. would have loved it there. Here's a great performance filmed from the balcony of someone's living room..
"The Vale of Clwyd" (text), from 26 Welsh Songs WoO.155 (1810). with Anne Roberts, Gordon Robson, James Ruggles and Margaret Sewell on vocals.
Think not I'll leave fair Clwyd's vale;
To me 'tis fondly dear!
For still its scenes those hours recall
When I was blest (when I was blest) and Henry here.
Long, long, to part our willing hands
An angry father strove;
While sorrow press'd on Henry's health,
A sorrow nurs'd, (a sorrow nurs'd) by hopeless love.
Nor was the idea vain:
How sad thou art, he cried;
But smile again, my darling child;
For thou shalt be thy Henry's bride.
At that glad sound, on wings of love,
To Henry's cot I flew:
But, ah! The transient flush of joy
From his wan cheek too soon withdrew.
'Twas doubtful bliss, 'twas sure alarm;
I only smil'd through tears:
But soon we hailed the bridal day,
And Love's fond hopes o'ercame its fears.
Ah! Hopes too false; ah! Fears too true,
Nor love nor joy could save:
I can no more, - but mark you turf
With flow'rs o'erspread, - 'tis Henry's grave!
Gustavo Dudamel's inaugural concert as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This performance took place at the Hollywood Bowl. Rockin'.
Symphony No.9 in D minor, op.125 (1824)
Pt 1-2: I. Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso (starts at 1:50)
Pt 3-5: II. Molto vivace
Pt 6-7: III. Adagio molto e cantabile
Pt 8: IV. Presto / Allegro Assai (Annoyingly, video goes off-sync from sound, just close your eyes and listen...)
Beethoven's 7th string quartet, Opus 59, No.1 ("Razumovsky" 1) has always been one of my favorites. Composed at the height of his "heroic" phase, this quartet takes many chances and always lands on its feet. Despite the fact that it actually "offended" a few early performers, now it's one of the bedrocks of the string quartet repertoire. Here's the Juilliard Quartet in a performance from 1975.
Juilliard String Quartet: Polling in Bavaria in 1975, at the beautiful baroque library of the former Augustinian Monastery to the south-west of Munich. Robert Mann violino Earl Carliss violino Samuel Rhodes viola Joel Krosnick violoncello
String Quartet 7 "Razumovsky", in F, Op.59 (1806) No 1 1.Allegro 2.Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando (si bemolle maggiore) 3.Adagio molto e mesto (fa minore) 4.Allegro
Link
More about String Quartet 7 in a previous post HERE.
Here's a rough but interesting rehearsal extract of String Quartet 5, Opus 18, No.5 with an ensemble led by violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz:
(Jascha Heifetz, Carol Sindell, Erick Friedman and Nathaniel Rosen)
Robert Schumann was a big fan of Beethoven. He composed his Fantasy Opus 17 as part of a fund raiser towards a Beethoven monument (right). He also composed "Beethoven Etüden, WoO31", several variations on B.'s 7th Symphony Allegretto. It can be heard here and here. However today's post is about Schumann's "Kreisleriana", one of my favorite Schumann works...which I think B. would have liked as well.
Allmusic:
Eccentric, wild, and clever aptly sum up one aspect of the work, but Kreisleriana is tender, ardent, and passionate as well. This alternation between the fantastic and the lyrical, the grotesque and the loving, is one of the key characteristics of Kreisleriana. Written in four days in April 1838, it is dedicated to Chopin in the score, but, like most of Schumann's piano music from the late 1830s, it is really about Schumann's love for Clara Wieck. Extremely virtuosic and extremely subjective, Schumann's Kreisleriana is one of the high points of his compositional career.
1. Ausserst bewegt (Extremely moving) Fast and diabolical D minor outer sections flank a slow and supple B flat major central section.
2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch (Very inwardly and not to quickly) This is a triple time-stylized dance movement with two trios. After a tenderly musing B flat major outer section follows the fast and capricious Intermezzo I in G minor. After the return of the opening section follows the fast and passionate Intermezzo II in G minor. The second Intermezzo is followed by intensely chromatic music and darkly wends it way back to the final return of the opening.
3. Sehr aufgereg (Very agitated) Quietly creeping chromatic music in G minor, reminiscent of the first movement, flanks somewhat slower and deeply affectionate music in B flat major. The return of the G minor music is at first exact, but rises to a fortissimo climax in which the rhythm slows and the music drops down into the depths of the piano.
4. Sehr langsam (Very slowly) This meditative music in B flat major has intense lyrical music, bordering on a recitative, followed by intimately poetic music hovering between quietness and stillness.
5. Sehr lebhaft (Very lively) In this pianissimo triple-time movement in G minor that is close to a Scherzo in tone and speed are two trios: one whimsical and the other building to a dramatic climax.
6. Sehr langsam (Very slowly) The heart of Kreisleriana starts with a folk-like melody in B flat major, but transforms into an extremely ardent central section in C minor.
7. Sehr rasch (Very fast) A violently excited movement in C minor, the velocity and intensity increase in a central fugato until it collapses in slower, chorale-like music at its close.
8. Schnell und spielend (Fast and playful) This G minor music skulks and slinks in seemingly two tempos at once: the right hand's frisky melody moving in one tempo while the left hand's slow-moving melody in octaves is slightly out of sync. The music enigmatically ends on the bottom of the keyboard.
From live performance at Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall in June 2009 by Akiko Nakai
From Beethoven's early, "giddy" piano works to his last sublime piano achievements, with his most played piano work in the mix (you know the one), these are all very fine performances - but Valentina Lisitsa's "Fur Elise" especially stands out. It's such a ubiquitous and over-exposed piano trifle - and yet here she makes it fresh as a spring day in the country...
Piano Sonatas 3, 13, 23, 32, WoO 76, Fur Elise (Total 1 hr, 40 min.)
Pt 1-4: Piano Sonata #3 In C, Op.2/3 (1795) (Johannes Gaechter)
Pt 5-6: Piano Sonata #13 In Eb, Op.27/1, "Quasi Una Fantasia" (1801) (Ran Dank)
Pt 7-8: Piano Sonata #23 In Fm, Op.57, "Appassionata" (1805) (Irina Lankova)
Pt 9-11: Piano Sonata #32, Op.111 (1822) (Corrado Rollero)
Pt 12: Variations on "Tändeln und Scherzen" from "Soliman oder die drei Sultaninnen" by Süssmayr, WoO.76 (1799) (Corrado Rollero)
Pt 13: Bagatelle 'Für Elise,' WoO.59 (1810) (Valentina Lisitsa)
Roberta Pili piano recital at Sogakudo Concert Hall (Tokyo, Japan, February, 2011) Pt. 1-4: Piano Sonata #28 in A, Op.101 (1816) Pt. 5-8: Piano Sonata #29 In Bb, Op.106, "Hammerklavier" (1818) Pt. 9-11: Piano Sonata #30 In E, Op.109 (1820) Pt. 12-15: Piano Sonata #31 In Ab, Op.110 (1822) Pt. 16-17: Piano Sonata #32, Op.111 (1822) Pt. 18-19: Piano Sonata #32, Op.111 (1822) (alternate performance)
The theatrical mask contemplated by a putto on the Beethoven
monument by Kaspar von Zumbusch (Vienna, 1880) commemorates
Beethoven's sole opera in the city where it made its debut.
Beethoven's Opera, Fidelio Conducted by James Levine Production: Jürgen Flimm · Set Design: Robert Israel Costume Design: Florence von Gerkan with Karita Mattila · Ben Heppner · René Pape · Falk Struckmann Robert Lloyd · Matthew Polenzani · Jennifer Welch-Babidge Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 2003
This is one of those modern 20th century stagings of a 19th century opera. Personally, I have some trouble with these kinds of modern reimaginings, but I suppose if an opera is almost 200 years old, it can stand a few "unusual" variations. Either way, Maestro Levine's music direction is great and this particular YT video actually has subtitles.
Symphonies 2 and 3 really ushered in the new age of modern music in my opinion. Symphony 2 is a breakneck whirlwind of dynamic 'avant-garde' energy - Symphony 3 takes that energy and makes it Shakespearean, yet still primordial...
Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36
Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, conductor
Recorded at Herkulessaal, Residenz München, 2007
This Symphony 3 "Eroica" is with wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. At the end I added a few interview/rehearsal clips...
Even though it was recently revealed to me that Stephen Hawking is a big Beethoven fan, apparently another icon of 20th century genius felt differently. Albert Einstein was an actual musician and played the violin (tho not extremely well) and as seen below he much preferred Bach and Mozart...however...
After his colleagues updated the music system they had given him five years earlier, Einstein began repeatedly to play an RCA recording of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. It was an unusual choice for two reasons. He tended to regard Beethoven, who was not his favorite composer, as “too personal, almost naked.” Also, his religious instincts did not usually include these sorts of trappings. “I am a deeply religious nonbeliever,” he noted to a friend who had sent him birthday greetings. “This is a somewhat new kind of religion.”
- From Walter Isaacson’s Einstein: His Life and Universe (Simon and Schuster, 2007)
Responses to a questionnaire. Though the questionnaire itself appears to have been lost, "...the questions on it can be inferred more or less from Einstein's responses..."
(1) Bach, Mozart, and some old Italian and English composers are my favorites in music. Beethoven considerably less -- but certainly Schubert.
(2) It is impossible for me to say whether Bach or Mozart means more to me. In music I do not look for logic. I am quite intuitive on the whole and know no theories. I never like a work if I cannot intuitively grasp its inner unity (architecture).
(3) I always feel that Handel is good -- even perfect -- but that he has a certain shallowness. Beethoven is for me too dramatic and too personal.
(4) Schubert is one of my favorites because of his superlative ability to express emotion and his enormous powers of melodic invention. But in his larger works I am disturbed by a certain lack of architectonics [German: "Architektonik"].
(5) Schumann is attractive to me in his smaller works because of their originality and richness of feeling, but his lack of formal greatness prevents my full enjoyment. In Mendelssohn I perceive considerable talent but an indefinable lack of depth that often leads to banality.
(6) I find a few lieder and chamber works by Brahms truly signficant, also in their structure. But most of his works have for me no inner persuasiveness. I do not understand why it was necessary to write them.
(7) I admire Wagner's inventiveness, but I see his lack of architectural structure as decadence. Moreover, to me his musical personality is indescribably offensive so that for the most part I can listen to him only with disgust.
(8) I feel that [Richard] Strauss is gifted, but without inner truth and concerned only with outside effects. I cannot say that I care nothing for modern music in general. I feel that Debussy is delicately colorful but shows a poverty of structure. I cannot work up great enthusiasm for something of that sort.
Symphonies 1, 3, 5 and 8 are featured today from Frans Bruggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century. I featured Maestro Bruggen on the Triple Concerto in the past so here's his take on several of the "big 9".
(2 hrs 18 min) Pt 1-3: Symphony 1 Pt 4-8: Symphony 3 "Eroica" Pt 9-12: Symphony 5 Pt 13-16: Symphony 8
At El Jardín de Belagua ("The Garden of Belagua") they hold regular chamber music concerts in the intimate setting of a very large living room. Their Youtube channel broadcasts these performances to the world outside. I really like that the camera is stationary and concentrates on the performer's hands and body movements. There are far too many "concert videos" where the camera swoops around the room or zooms in on the performer's "sweaty brow" - that drives me crazy. So here's a concert program compiled from some fine performances there of Beethoven works:
Pt. 1-3: Piano Sonata #6 In F, Op.10, No.2 (1797) Pt. 4-7: Violin Sonata No.5 FM 'Spring', Op.24 (1801) Pt. 8-11: Piano Sonata #13 In Eb, Op.27, No.1, "Quasi Una Fantasia" (1801) Pt. 12-13: Piano Trio 4 (Clarinet ver), Op.11 "Gassenhauer" (1798) (I, II) Pt. 14-15: Piano Trio 2 in G Op.1 No.2 (1794) (II, IV) Pt. 16: Duo (Clarinet & Cello arr.), WoO 27, No.2, (III. Rondo)
