The violin composition by Ludwig van Beethoven: Romance #2 for violin and orchestra Opus 50 in F Major, played by violinist Josef Suk, Sir Neville Marriner, conductor [1] evokes a youthful fantasy, a place of peace and freedom where a carefree life could be lived in love with abandon.
Beethoven's Romance #1 Opus 49 in G Major is also beautiful but his Romance #2 Opus 50 in F Major stresses a sense of longing that always seems to arise during periods between romantic interludes which makes each successive romantic rendezvous much more ephemeral and precious than the last, and turns the longing for the next into an intense yearning.
Youthful fantasies fade away while realities of life set in insidiously as the years go by, erasing the innocence of youth, the spontaneity of laughter and the blissfulness of existence.
Despite the prevalence of disturbances and worries in the life of a grown-up, this Romance #2 for violin and orchestra by Beethoven recorded by Josef Suk, with Sir Neville Marriner conducting Academy of St. Martin of the Fields orchestra beginning at 7:25 awakens temporarily the dreams of youth that are closer to what Heaven must be like than the antipodal extremes of hijacked and tyrannical religions and unbridled and greedy capitalism.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwa0c-oKZSM beginning at 7:25.
Showing posts with label Beethoven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beethoven. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Beethoven's Choral Fantasy
Ludwig van Beethoven's Choral Fantasy is another of my favorites [1]. This is music that brings one a bit closer to Heaven. It is an orchestral piece rarely performed, perhaps because of its relatively short duration, about 19 minutes, requiring a full orchestra, a pianist, soloists and a chorus, a composition that ranks in my opinion equal to the composer's famous Symphony No. 9, 'Choral' (as long as 79 minutes [2]), his 5th Piano Concerto (approximately 40 minutes [3]), 'Emperor' and his Missa Solemnis (80 minutes [4]).
A number of performances of the Choral Fantasy can be heard on Youtube, including a lousy interpretation by Lang Lang. The best performance belongs to Evgeny Kissin and the Berliner Philharmoniker, the soloists and the chorus, Claudio Abbado, conductor. [5] Take a listen with eyes closed and see how much closer Heaven is.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKi4Tm0Ukg
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_%28Beethoven%29
[3] http://www.sfsymphony.org/Watch-Listen-Learn/Read-Program-Notes/Program-Notes/BEETHOVEN-Concerto-No-5-in-E-flat-major-for-Piano.aspx
[4] http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Cedes/TheCds_Voice_Choir_MissaSolemnis.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKi4Tm0Ukg
A number of performances of the Choral Fantasy can be heard on Youtube, including a lousy interpretation by Lang Lang. The best performance belongs to Evgeny Kissin and the Berliner Philharmoniker, the soloists and the chorus, Claudio Abbado, conductor. [5] Take a listen with eyes closed and see how much closer Heaven is.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKi4Tm0Ukg
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_%28Beethoven%29
[3] http://www.sfsymphony.org/Watch-Listen-Learn/Read-Program-Notes/Program-Notes/BEETHOVEN-Concerto-No-5-in-E-flat-major-for-Piano.aspx
[4] http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Cedes/TheCds_Voice_Choir_MissaSolemnis.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKi4Tm0Ukg
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis By Otto Klemperer
On January 8, 2013, I mentioned the violin solo in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in D major, Opus 123 recorded by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw, conductor, but provided no link to the music. Yesterday, I found a comparable 1965 recording by the New Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor [1]. The violin solo begins at approximately 00:53:61, but the movement starts at 00:48:24. No doubt Robert Shaw's 1990 interpretation was patterned after that of Otto Klemperer whose recording was made 25 years earlier.
In both renditions, the music produced by the strings of the violin is like the Holy Spirit descending. It is ethereal. Music this sublime can only be divinely inspired.
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lbPapR6VfY
[Update 9-1-14]: The link cited above was closed. Here is another Klemperer recording of the Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, this one with the Weiner Symphoniker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcFEX191mm4 The violin solo begins at 5:00. This 1955 performance, is as good, if not better than the 1965 version even though the sound of the recording is somewhat inferior. See comment by by Andrew R. Weiss on July 28, 2002, at Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Otto-Kl5emperer-Conducts-Beethoven/dp/B000001K5T. Here is another link, this one to the complete 1955 Klemperer's recording of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Wiener Symphoniker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X0I-2egC1s. Here, the violin solo begins at approximately 00:49:29. Just in case another uploader decides to close his account, here is yet another Klemperer recording of a live 1955 performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, with Chor des Norddeutschen Rundfunks and Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZhgsX8T8Ow. The sound on this recording is better than the Weiner Symphoniker's but the violin solo starts, rather surprisingly, in this one at approximately 00:49:29 as well. Read Amazon.com's editorial and customer reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/Klemperer-conducts-Beethoven-Missa-Solemnis/dp/B000VX1QMC.
[Update 11-2-14]: In Concert on ETWN broadcasted on November 2, 2014, "[a] festive performance [of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis] from the Staatskapelle Dresden, under the direction of Fabio Luisi, celebrating the heartwarming event of the reopening of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden [in 2002]." The performance is as wonderful as Robert Shaw's recording in 1990. At the time of this update, it is not available on Youtube.
In both renditions, the music produced by the strings of the violin is like the Holy Spirit descending. It is ethereal. Music this sublime can only be divinely inspired.
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lbPapR6VfY
[Update 9-1-14]: The link cited above was closed. Here is another Klemperer recording of the Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, this one with the Weiner Symphoniker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcFEX191mm4 The violin solo begins at 5:00. This 1955 performance, is as good, if not better than the 1965 version even though the sound of the recording is somewhat inferior. See comment by by Andrew R. Weiss on July 28, 2002, at Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Otto-Kl5emperer-Conducts-Beethoven/dp/B000001K5T. Here is another link, this one to the complete 1955 Klemperer's recording of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Wiener Symphoniker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X0I-2egC1s. Here, the violin solo begins at approximately 00:49:29. Just in case another uploader decides to close his account, here is yet another Klemperer recording of a live 1955 performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, with Chor des Norddeutschen Rundfunks and Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZhgsX8T8Ow. The sound on this recording is better than the Weiner Symphoniker's but the violin solo starts, rather surprisingly, in this one at approximately 00:49:29 as well. Read Amazon.com's editorial and customer reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/Klemperer-conducts-Beethoven-Missa-Solemnis/dp/B000VX1QMC.
[Update 11-2-14]: In Concert on ETWN broadcasted on November 2, 2014, "[a] festive performance [of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis] from the Staatskapelle Dresden, under the direction of Fabio Luisi, celebrating the heartwarming event of the reopening of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden [in 2002]." The performance is as wonderful as Robert Shaw's recording in 1990. At the time of this update, it is not available on Youtube.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Three Pianists - One Piano Piece - Three Renditions
Johannes Brahms' Intermezzo, Opus 118, No. 2 is new to me. It is available on Youtube, played by Arthur Jussen, Evegny Kissin (starting at 2:01), Ivo Pogorelić and others. I listened to the piece played by each pianist in the order listed. After hearing Ivo Pogorelić's rendition, I ended my search for others that played the same piece. In my mind, it was perfect.
What to me appears perfect may be far from it to another. Differences in subjectivity give rise to variety and "variety," as the saying goes, "is the spice of life." The universe is about variety and variety is the work of God. With variety comes choice and each person is given the Free Will to choose.
While there is but one path to God, man is able to choose freely its hues, shape and distance. The more passionately colorful, the more tortuously shaped the path, the longer is the journey. The length of one's journey to God is not measured in distance and time but in relative degrees of difficulty. The more difficult the journey, the longer it seems to be in the mind of the traveler.
A composer of music expresses on paper his journey of twists and turns leading to God; a pianist lifts those dexterous fingers up and hammers them down on the keys of the piano, turning notes into sounds, and sounds into emotions. Depending on the piano playing skills of the pianist, and on the depth and range of emotions the pianist is willing to give each note and caesura, performances of the same piano piece by different pianists will vary.
The genius of Ivo Pogorelić was his ability to lift the musical notes off a music sheet, study each note individually and together in clusters and translate them into sounds that paint wide ranging emotional depths, crisscrossing a vast musical canvas that form a consolidated path shared by the composer and the performer, one that is as intricate as it is unique and that leads steadfastly toward Heaven. [1]
[1] Another one of Pogorelić's brilliant performances was Beethoven's Sonate für Klavier (c-moll) Op. 111. It can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKk-nntXrn4 . The way Pogorelić played it, especially the Arietta beginning at 11:31, was exquisite. If the second movement of Beethoven's piano sonata in C minor is a description of a section of the composer's path to God, then it is most certainly tortuous, intricate and difficult to navigate through, showing wide-ranging choices of the composer whose genius was fully captured by Ivo Pogorelić.
What to me appears perfect may be far from it to another. Differences in subjectivity give rise to variety and "variety," as the saying goes, "is the spice of life." The universe is about variety and variety is the work of God. With variety comes choice and each person is given the Free Will to choose.
While there is but one path to God, man is able to choose freely its hues, shape and distance. The more passionately colorful, the more tortuously shaped the path, the longer is the journey. The length of one's journey to God is not measured in distance and time but in relative degrees of difficulty. The more difficult the journey, the longer it seems to be in the mind of the traveler.
A composer of music expresses on paper his journey of twists and turns leading to God; a pianist lifts those dexterous fingers up and hammers them down on the keys of the piano, turning notes into sounds, and sounds into emotions. Depending on the piano playing skills of the pianist, and on the depth and range of emotions the pianist is willing to give each note and caesura, performances of the same piano piece by different pianists will vary.
The genius of Ivo Pogorelić was his ability to lift the musical notes off a music sheet, study each note individually and together in clusters and translate them into sounds that paint wide ranging emotional depths, crisscrossing a vast musical canvas that form a consolidated path shared by the composer and the performer, one that is as intricate as it is unique and that leads steadfastly toward Heaven. [1]
[1] Another one of Pogorelić's brilliant performances was Beethoven's Sonate für Klavier (c-moll) Op. 111. It can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKk-nntXrn4 . The way Pogorelić played it, especially the Arietta beginning at 11:31, was exquisite. If the second movement of Beethoven's piano sonata in C minor is a description of a section of the composer's path to God, then it is most certainly tortuous, intricate and difficult to navigate through, showing wide-ranging choices of the composer whose genius was fully captured by Ivo Pogorelić.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
The Next Dimension
In the reflection of sadness can one truly detect the depth of beauty in one's soul. When that part of the soul is revealed, the observer is transported to the next dimension, an invisible dimension that touches the love of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the sacred heart of Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Starting at about 9:15, when Dutch pianist Lucas Jussen started playing the first few notes of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique (Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13)'s second movement [1], I was transported to this next dimension that is surrounded by absolute beauty that cannot be seen or touched, but felt.
While other pianists are also gifted in piano playing, such as and Yundi Li and Lang Lang, both of whom I admire, their respective interpretation of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique just do not compare to Lucas Jussen's in terms of genuineness and depth.
I personally find Li's interpretation [2] somewhat contrived. If Li had intended for the listener to equate his slowness of playing with the depth of emotion written into the piece by Beethoven, he had not succeeded. To put it bluntly, his piece was to me two-dimensional--a flat translation of notes on a music sheet into sounds.
Compared to Li's, Lang Lang's version [3] sounds wonderful. Technically brilliant, Lang Lang's version was not as meditative as sadness requires in order that the full extent of the beauty waiting on the other side can be appreciated. His piece was somewhat rushed and did not reach the emotional depths of the emotionally tormented Ludwig van Beethoven.
Turning to Lucas Jussen's deeply felt version of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, I find in the second movement a genuine expression of mature sadness that leads the listener to an abundance of exquisite beauty in the next dimension. The reflection of sadness was perhaps not fully Lucas' own for he was still relatively young when he played it, but the composer's.
Lucas Jussen, 21, has come a long way since he was a boy when he played with Lang Lang Franz Schubert's Marches Militaires (3) for piano, 4 hands, D. 733 (Op. 51) No.1 [4].
When God gives gifts of talent, they are not identical. Yundi Li might be able to express near perfectly the soul of Frédéric Chopin's Nocturnes [5] and Lang Lang the soul of Franz Liszt's many compositions [6]. Beethoven might have found the pianist that expresses his soul well overall. Time will tell if Lucas Jussen or his younger brother, Arthur, [7], or some other pianist, will better, or equally, represent the genius that is Beethoven. [8]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndngGMpmFFQ
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tvFtbSB54
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnbH9oKUWIQ
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTAO2X1x-3Q
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZ3IEQQf4s
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e3sL8o28Ls&list=PL0743A1C73CB32545
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slQ5HWs6LaY & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxJ13RYkac4
[8] Poor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who best represents his soul at this time? His music is so delicate and tinged with so many complicated shades of sadness that reveals layers upon layers of beauty in the next dimension that would challenge any pianist who tries to capture his soul. I think Mitsuko Uchida was able to capture it fairly well at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRE2wIFbW8&list=RDk4BFTaMYZ7E&index=, especially her interpretation of his Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595 beginning at 17:25 to 23:00.
Starting at about 9:15, when Dutch pianist Lucas Jussen started playing the first few notes of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique (Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13)'s second movement [1], I was transported to this next dimension that is surrounded by absolute beauty that cannot be seen or touched, but felt.
While other pianists are also gifted in piano playing, such as and Yundi Li and Lang Lang, both of whom I admire, their respective interpretation of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique just do not compare to Lucas Jussen's in terms of genuineness and depth.
I personally find Li's interpretation [2] somewhat contrived. If Li had intended for the listener to equate his slowness of playing with the depth of emotion written into the piece by Beethoven, he had not succeeded. To put it bluntly, his piece was to me two-dimensional--a flat translation of notes on a music sheet into sounds.
Compared to Li's, Lang Lang's version [3] sounds wonderful. Technically brilliant, Lang Lang's version was not as meditative as sadness requires in order that the full extent of the beauty waiting on the other side can be appreciated. His piece was somewhat rushed and did not reach the emotional depths of the emotionally tormented Ludwig van Beethoven.
Turning to Lucas Jussen's deeply felt version of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, I find in the second movement a genuine expression of mature sadness that leads the listener to an abundance of exquisite beauty in the next dimension. The reflection of sadness was perhaps not fully Lucas' own for he was still relatively young when he played it, but the composer's.
Lucas Jussen, 21, has come a long way since he was a boy when he played with Lang Lang Franz Schubert's Marches Militaires (3) for piano, 4 hands, D. 733 (Op. 51) No.1 [4].
When God gives gifts of talent, they are not identical. Yundi Li might be able to express near perfectly the soul of Frédéric Chopin's Nocturnes [5] and Lang Lang the soul of Franz Liszt's many compositions [6]. Beethoven might have found the pianist that expresses his soul well overall. Time will tell if Lucas Jussen or his younger brother, Arthur, [7], or some other pianist, will better, or equally, represent the genius that is Beethoven. [8]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndngGMpmFFQ
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tvFtbSB54
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnbH9oKUWIQ
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTAO2X1x-3Q
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZ3IEQQf4s
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e3sL8o28Ls&list=PL0743A1C73CB32545
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slQ5HWs6LaY & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxJ13RYkac4
[8] Poor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who best represents his soul at this time? His music is so delicate and tinged with so many complicated shades of sadness that reveals layers upon layers of beauty in the next dimension that would challenge any pianist who tries to capture his soul. I think Mitsuko Uchida was able to capture it fairly well at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRE2wIFbW8&list=RDk4BFTaMYZ7E&index=, especially her interpretation of his Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595 beginning at 17:25 to 23:00.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The Transcendency of Music
Imagine for a moment the number of notes, of variations in pitch and tempo of every combination possible and then on a blank music sheet appears a composition, originally handwritten with no mistakes, for orchestral instruments, choir and solo glorifying God with words from Psalm 117 and a prayer, quoted in Latin and in English below:
"Laudate Dominum omnes gentes;
Laudate eum, omnes populi.
Quoniam confirmata est
Super nos misericordia ejus.
Et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper.
Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
"Praise the Lord, all nations;
Praise Him, all people.
For He has bestowed
His mercy upon us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever,
and for generations of generations. Amen." [1]
The score can be seen here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5291/laudate-Dominum-Mozart-vepres-solennelles-KV339. There a number or renditions. The one I listen to is a recording conducted by Sir Colin Davis featuring Kiri te Kanawa as the soloist. None of the uploads on Youtube to date is any good but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8BCGJ3mSrc is by far the relative best and the comment by a gym-buffed drewqq is noteworthy. He is right, Addidobelpassato's upload does sound a bit off at the beginning.
For those of you who are in a rush - and God knows your reasons and excuses - you can listen to Kathleen Battle hurry through it nicely to get it over with quickly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_zGwyH54s even as Mozart's score called for "Andante [6/8] ma un poco sostenuto" [2] which to me means slow but not so slow that the listener would fall asleep in the middle of it nor so fast like Chopin's ["Minute"] Waltz, Opus 64, No.1 rendered perfectly by the unparalleled Evgeny Kissin at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJIdh0acWyw
Back on topic, I find the Laudate Dominum from Mozart's Vesperae solenne de confessore, KV 339 recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, conductor, to be among my top favorite classical pieces of all time and on par with the violin solo in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in D major, Opus 123 recorded by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw, conductor. Both are in my humble opinion divinely inspired, for I cannot imagine any human is capable of rising unassisted so far above the mundanity of earthly existence to the upper reaches of spiritual clarity and going so far down to the absolute depth of honesty to seek reconciliation with the Truth.
[1] http://operalady.blogspot.com/2009/09/lucia-popp-laudate-dominum-mozart.html
[2] http://www.scribd.com/doc/5291/laudate-Dominum-Mozart-vepres-solennelles-KV339
"Laudate Dominum omnes gentes;
Laudate eum, omnes populi.
Quoniam confirmata est
Super nos misericordia ejus.
Et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper.
Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
"Praise the Lord, all nations;
Praise Him, all people.
For He has bestowed
His mercy upon us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever,
and for generations of generations. Amen." [1]
The score can be seen here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5291/laudate-Dominum-Mozart-vepres-solennelles-KV339. There a number or renditions. The one I listen to is a recording conducted by Sir Colin Davis featuring Kiri te Kanawa as the soloist. None of the uploads on Youtube to date is any good but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8BCGJ3mSrc is by far the relative best and the comment by a gym-buffed drewqq is noteworthy. He is right, Addidobelpassato's upload does sound a bit off at the beginning.
For those of you who are in a rush - and God knows your reasons and excuses - you can listen to Kathleen Battle hurry through it nicely to get it over with quickly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_zGwyH54s even as Mozart's score called for "Andante [6/8] ma un poco sostenuto" [2] which to me means slow but not so slow that the listener would fall asleep in the middle of it nor so fast like Chopin's ["Minute"] Waltz, Opus 64, No.1 rendered perfectly by the unparalleled Evgeny Kissin at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJIdh0acWyw
Back on topic, I find the Laudate Dominum from Mozart's Vesperae solenne de confessore, KV 339 recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, conductor, to be among my top favorite classical pieces of all time and on par with the violin solo in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in D major, Opus 123 recorded by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw, conductor. Both are in my humble opinion divinely inspired, for I cannot imagine any human is capable of rising unassisted so far above the mundanity of earthly existence to the upper reaches of spiritual clarity and going so far down to the absolute depth of honesty to seek reconciliation with the Truth.
[1] http://operalady.blogspot.com/2009/09/lucia-popp-laudate-dominum-mozart.html
[2] http://www.scribd.com/doc/5291/laudate-Dominum-Mozart-vepres-solennelles-KV339
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