Music on Thursdays - Online
Thursday 24th September 2020
Beethoven 250
Guest Host: Peter Horsfield, Chair of the Society
Artistes: Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel, Alexander Mayer, conductor
Nashville Symphony ♦ Daniel Barenboim, piano ♦ Valentina Lisitsa, piano
Fritz Wunderlich, tenor • Hubert Giesen, piano ♦ kpunkt klaviermusik of Germany
Anna Samuil, soprano • Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano • Michael König, tenor • René Pape, bass
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra • Michael Barenboim, leader • Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Starts: when you are ready
latecomers will be admitted at your personal discretion
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Beethoven 250
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven
baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827
from Symphony No 3 in Eb 'Eroica' Op 55 (1803)
IV Finale allegro molto very fast and bright
performed by the Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel
Alexander Mayer, conductor
from Symphony No 6 in F 'Pastoral' Op 68 (1808)
V Finale. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm allegretto
Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm fairly brisk
performed in lockdown by members of the Nashville Symphony
from Piano Sonata No 10 in G Op 14 No 2 (1798-1799)
I Allegro bright and fast
performed by Daniel Barenboim
from Piano Sonata No 14 in C# minor 'Moonlight'
Op 27 No 2 (1801)
III Presto agitato very fast, excited
performed by Valentina Lisitsa
Resignation WoO 149 (1817)
performed in 1966 by Fritz Wunderlich, tenor
with Hubert Giesen, piano
Bagatelle in F minor (October 1826)
performed by kpunkt klaviermusik of Germany
from Symphony No 9 in D minor 'Choral' Op 125 (1822-24)
IV Finale Jasmine Flower
performed by Anna Samuil, soprano • Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Michael König, tenor • René Pape, bass
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Michael Barenboim, leader
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
ENCORE
from Violin Concerto in D Op 61 (1806)
III Rondo. Allegro.
performed by Hilary Hahn
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductorr
baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827
from Symphony No 3 in Eb 'Eroica' Op 55 (1803)
IV Finale allegro molto very fast and bright
performed by the Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel
Alexander Mayer, conductor
from Symphony No 6 in F 'Pastoral' Op 68 (1808)
V Finale. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm allegretto
Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm fairly brisk
performed in lockdown by members of the Nashville Symphony
from Piano Sonata No 10 in G Op 14 No 2 (1798-1799)
I Allegro bright and fast
performed by Daniel Barenboim
from Piano Sonata No 14 in C# minor 'Moonlight'
Op 27 No 2 (1801)
III Presto agitato very fast, excited
performed by Valentina Lisitsa
Resignation WoO 149 (1817)
performed in 1966 by Fritz Wunderlich, tenor
with Hubert Giesen, piano
Bagatelle in F minor (October 1826)
performed by kpunkt klaviermusik of Germany
from Symphony No 9 in D minor 'Choral' Op 125 (1822-24)
IV Finale Jasmine Flower
performed by Anna Samuil, soprano • Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Michael König, tenor • René Pape, bass
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Michael Barenboim, leader
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
ENCORE
from Violin Concerto in D Op 61 (1806)
III Rondo. Allegro.
performed by Hilary Hahn
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductorr
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Had we been able to put on live concerts this year, I am sure some of our musicians would have chosen works in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. I was very pleased to hear, at our July Trustees' Meeting, Peter Horsfield suggesting he might come up with a suitable selection to mark the year.
I hope you too will enjoy this thoughtfully devised Beethoven programme, put together by the Chair of LCAS, Peter Horsfield. [Peter S]
I hope you too will enjoy this thoughtfully devised Beethoven programme, put together by the Chair of LCAS, Peter Horsfield. [Peter S]
In my early teens, when I was studying music at school, I used to consider Beethoven my favourite composer. Several decades later, despite having enlarged my musical repertoire, and become familiar with an enormously diverse range of composers and musical styles, I still rate him at the top of my favourites list.
The range of emotions which his music explores is phenomenal, and despite the suffering he endured during his troubled life (or perhaps because of it), he accesses at times the most profound joy and spiritual awareness.
It is, of course, a nearly impossible task to choose a representative selection of his music to fit into a (virtual) concert with a limited time allowance; but here are a few examples, most of which have a personal connection of some sort.
Symphony number 3 in Eb was a work which initially didn’t make much impression on me. I found it rather heavy going and long-winded – but it was not long before I began to like it more and more. It definitely grew on me. (This was in the early 1960’s, the era of LP records, when 33 rpm had just taken over from 78 rpm, but the discs still needed to be turned over frequently.) It was written in the era of the rise of Napoleon, and the final movement triumphantly expresses feelings of revolutionary freedom. (Beethoven was so angry when he realised that Napoleon was becoming as corrupt a tyrant as his forerunners, that he struck the name off the title page.) |
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) (12m17)
from Symphony No 3 in Eb 'Eroica' Op 55(1803) IV Finale allegro molto very fast and bright performed by the Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel, Alexander Mayer, conductor, at the Temple du Bas, Neuchâtel, Sswitzerland |
The Pastoral symphony was another early favourite. The peaceful final movement is a serene thanksgiving, the calm after the storm. This virtual version was recorded during the current pandemic lockdown. |
from Symphony No 6 in F 'Pastoral' Op 68 (1808) (5m52)
V Finale. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm allegretto Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm fairly brisk performed in lockdown by members of the Nashville Symphony |
This movement from the piano sonata no 10 was one of my set pieces for my Grade 7 exam, and was one which I particularly enjoyed playing. It would take a lot of work nowadays to recover that standard of technical expertise!
Here is a performance by a man who really understands Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim:
Here is a performance by a man who really understands Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim:
from Piano Sonata No 10 in G Op 14 No 2 (1798-1799) (7m11)
I Allegro bright and fast
performed by Daniel Barenboim
I Allegro bright and fast
performed by Daniel Barenboim
Another of my favourite piano sonatas was the “Moonlight”, and the passionate final movement is one which I would have loved to have been able to master at full speed.
On the left we have the final movement. If you have the time, on the right you will find the entire sonata, both recorded by Valentina Lisitsa:
On the left we have the final movement. If you have the time, on the right you will find the entire sonata, both recorded by Valentina Lisitsa:
from Piano Sonata No 14 in C# minor 'Moonlight'
Op 27 No 2 (1801) (6m48) III Presto agitato very fast, excited performed by Valentina Lisitsa |
Piano Sonata No 14 in C# minor 'Moonlight'
Op 27 No 2 (1801) I Adagio sostenuto slow and sustained (14m31) II Allegretto fairly brisk III Presto agitato very fast, excited performed by Valentina Lisitsa |
The recent television series “Being Beethoven” alerted me to this simple and poignant song. It was written at the time of the Heiligenstadt Testament, a crisis point when Beethoven was coming to terms with his increasing deafness and consequent feelings of despair.
[The Heiligenstadt Testament is a letter Beethoven wrote to his brothers describing his increasing deafness, his despair, even his contemplation of suicide. It sits now in a Hamburg museum, donated by the Swedish singer Jenny Lind.] |
Resignation WoO 149, G252 (1817) (2m26)
text by Paul, Graf von Haugwitz (1791-1856) performed in 1966 by Fritz Wunderlich, tenor with Hubert Giesen, piano |
Resignation
Lisch aus, mein Licht! Was dir gebricht, Das ist nun fort, an diesem Ort Kannst du's nicht wieder finden! Du mußt nun los dich binden. Sonst hast du lustig aufgebrannt, Nun hat man dir die Luft entwandt; Wenn diese fort gewehet, die Flamme irregehet, Sucht, findet nicht; lisch aus, mein Licht! Paul, Graf von Haugwitz (1791-1856) |
Resignation Go out, my light! What you lack Is now gone; In this place, You will never find it again. You must now break your bonds! Once you burnt cheerily, Now they've stolen away your air; When that is gone The flame sputters; Seeks, but finds it not; Go out, my light! |
In 2008, while working on manuscripts in the Berlin State Library, Australian musicologist Peter McCallum found what is now believed to be Beethoven's final piano composition. It took a while to work out what he was seeing because Beethoven used an idiosyncratic shorthand, and rarely troubled himself with clefs or key signatures.
The 'Kullak sketchbook' contains workings for works eventually written out fully. Among sketches for the String Quartet Op 135 he found this Bagatelle in F minor.
If you are going to learn the work, one piece of advice offered is to practise the thirds 'in a very slow tempo'.
Here are two quite different interpretations of the Bagatelle. Which do you feel Beethoven would have preferred? My choice is the more reflective performance which aligns more with what we know of Beethoven's general mood in his final months.
The 'Kullak sketchbook' contains workings for works eventually written out fully. Among sketches for the String Quartet Op 135 he found this Bagatelle in F minor.
If you are going to learn the work, one piece of advice offered is to practise the thirds 'in a very slow tempo'.
Here are two quite different interpretations of the Bagatelle. Which do you feel Beethoven would have preferred? My choice is the more reflective performance which aligns more with what we know of Beethoven's general mood in his final months.
Bagatelle in F minor (October 1826) (0m55)
performed by kpunkt klaviermusik of Germany |
Bagatelle in F minor (October 1826) (1m48)
performed by Paul Barton |
The famous Ninth Symphony, where the voices join the orchestra in the final movement “Ode to Joy”, seems a fitting finale to any selection of Beethoven’s music.
Here the feeling of the universal brotherhood of man, and the transcending over-suffering of unfettered Joy is expressed; where Beethoven found that the instruments on their own could not transmit this magnitude without the final choral blend.
This recording brings together two extremely worthy institutions, firstly the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, and then, with Daniel Barenboim, the man who masterminded their entire project, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
Here the feeling of the universal brotherhood of man, and the transcending over-suffering of unfettered Joy is expressed; where Beethoven found that the instruments on their own could not transmit this magnitude without the final choral blend.
This recording brings together two extremely worthy institutions, firstly the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, and then, with Daniel Barenboim, the man who masterminded their entire project, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
from Symphony No 9 in D minor 'Choral' Op 125 (1822-24)
IV Finale Jasmine Flower (25m00 of 29m53 - it's all applause after the 25m00!)
performed by
Anna Samuil, soprano
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Michael König, tenor
René Pape, bass
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Michael Barenboim, leader
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
at BBC Prom 18 of the 2012 Season, 27 July 2012
IV Finale Jasmine Flower (25m00 of 29m53 - it's all applause after the 25m00!)
performed by
Anna Samuil, soprano
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Michael König, tenor
René Pape, bass
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Michael Barenboim, leader
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
at BBC Prom 18 of the 2012 Season, 27 July 2012
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere. Freude! Freude! Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. Wem der große Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein; Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund! Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen. Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muß er wohnen. Johan Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) |
Oh friends, not these sounds!
Let us instead strike up more pleasing and more joyful ones! Joy! Joy! Joy, beautiful spark of divinity, Daughter from Elysium, We enter, burning with fervour, heavenly being, your sanctuary! Your magic brings together what custom has sternly divided. All men shall become brothers, wherever your gentle wings hover. Whoever has been lucky enough to become a friend to a friend, Whoever has found a beloved wife, let him join our songs of praise! Yes, and anyone who can call one soul his own on this earth! Any who cannot, let them slink away from this gathering in tears! Every creature drinks in joy at nature's breast; Good and Evil alike follow her trail of roses. She gives us kisses and wine, a true friend, even in death; Even the worm was given desire, and the cherub stands before God. Gladly, just as His suns hurtle through the glorious universe, So you, brothers, should run your course, joyfully, like a conquering hero. Be embraced, you millions! This kiss is for the whole world! Brothers, above the canopy of stars must dwell a loving father. Do you bow down before Him, you millions? Do you sense your Creator, O world? Seek Him above the canopy of stars! He must dwell beyond the stars. |
Encore
If there is time to listen to an encore, (and you have got your breath back) I would like to recommend the violin concerto, particularly the final movement, which is again wonderfully uplifting and joyful.
from Violin Concerto in D Op 61 (1806)
III Rondo. Allegro. (8m50)
performed by Hilary Hahn, with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor
III Rondo. Allegro. (8m50)
performed by Hilary Hahn, with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Presenter: Peter Horsfield
Series Editor: Peter Steadman
Assisted by: Richard Miller & Jane Forrester
Series Editor: Peter Steadman
Assisted by: Richard Miller & Jane Forrester
We hope you have enjoyed your Beethoven 250 Concert Online
Next week's concert will start at 12.30 lunchtime (probably, precisely)
Yes, we open our series of 5 'as live' concerts with
pianist Eddie Lee's Jazz on Thursday
click on one of the tabs below to find out more about Eddie's or
any of the 5 Arts e-Live Concerts we are hosting in this exceptional year
Oct 1st
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Oct 8th
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Oct 15th
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Oct 22nd
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Oct 29th
|
comments welcome: musiconthursdays@gmail.com
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Concert Selections still available on this Website:
Please click on a title to go to the concert webpage • Marina Kan's AGM Piano Concert • Concert for St George's Day and Shakespeare's Birthday 1 May 2020 Music on May Day Online • Music on MayDay • Music for VE Day 75th Anniversary • Piano à Deux - Linda Ang Stoodley & Robert Stoodley, 4 hands on 1 piano • Clocks & Cathedrals (musical clocks, that is) • Guitars & Friends - a guitar medley • Beethoven & Haydn String Quartets • Cello Tango - from solos to multi cellists • Organs of Paris ♥ Les Orgues de Paris • Flute Fest • Virtual Viola, hosted by Lynda Chang • Multi Piano - pianos from two to 12 at a time • From Sackbutt to Trombone • Harp Haven - our President's 100th Birthday Concert • Oboe Omnibus • Gentle Guitar • Music for Unusual Instruments • Viola da Gamba, hosted by Ibrahim Aziz • Music & the Military • Choral Music • Clarinet Compilation, hosted by Lynda Chang • The Voice, hosted by Lynda Chang |
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