Beethoven, Ludwig van that ilk (1770 - 1827)

[antongould]

I'm sure that ferney will sort it all out.

I'm sure he will and may even throw in Wagner .... under W rather than R .... !!!

[BBMmk2]

Although Emil Gilels didn't record all the sonatas, for DG, I have the box set and, surely this must rank as a contender?

[gurnemanz]

Impossible to tire of the symphonies. ...
Symphonies apart, it's the Missa Solemnis that reaches parts that no other music does and had Beethoven never written another note he would still be the greatest composer of them all.

I can remember Missa Solemnis really inspired me at sadder moments in my life. I had a poster of LvB in Byronic pose on the wall of my student room and had written underneath it the famous quote "Vom Herzen, möge es wieder zu Herzen gehen."
I love it that you can still happen upon works you have ignored up till now: eg I played the Schnabel recording of Fantasy Op. 77 the other day, and frequently find recordings of well-trodden works which give you a new angle: Boyd/Manchester Camerata Fifth and Alexei Lubimov doing the last three sonatas on a period instrument come to mind.

[greenilex]

Thanks for #25, LL.

Would be fascinating. Of course, people respond to adversity differently, and there are many different types and degrees of loss - even if we disregard congenital deafness.

But people with age-related loss may be a useful resource.

[Bryn]

I picked up the Scribendum "The Art of Hermann Scherchen" from the local Post Office (now at the back of the W H Smith store, the 'proper' one having been closed down). All the Beethoven symphonies are to be found in the set, with more than one recording of some. The main orchestra is that from which Vienna Phil. members are recruited. There is 24 minute rehearsal recording included. The work concerned? Why, Op. 91, of course.

[LMcD]

A minor, but pleasant, musical discovery on TTN: 2 sonatinas for mandolin by Beethoven. These are among his 'Werke ohne Opusnummern'. Are there other 'WoO' works which are worth seeking out? And are there undiscovered treasures lurking in Koechel's 'Anhang'?
(Later) I've just watched a performance of the Piano Trio WoO 38 - certainly not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable listen.

[BBMmk2]

A minor, but pleasant, musical discovery on TTN: 2 sonatinas for mandolin by Beethoven. These are among his 'Werke ohne Opusnummern'. Are there other 'WoO' works which are worth seeking out? And are there undiscovered treasures lurking in Koechel's 'Anhang'?
(Later) I've just watched a performance of the Piano Trio WoO 38 - certainly not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable listen.

Wasn't Wellington's Victory a WOo?

[LMcD]

Wasn't Wellington's Victory a WOo?

No - it seems to be Opus 91.

[Richard Barrett]

No - it seems to be Opus 91.

More an OoW! than a WoO I would say.

[Tevot]

I have a soft spot for the Choral Fantasy, which seems to be regarded in some quarters as second rank Beethoven....It never fails to hold my attention throughout, at any rate in a good performance.

Hello there,

I'm more than happy to second your thoughts about the Choral Fantasia, Rauschwerk - and I remember listening as a child regularly to an LP of it with Barenboim tinkling the ivories, Klemperer being magisterial and the John Alldis Choir delivering the requisite Fantasy

The times did a change - and one of my favourite CDs is "Beethoven in Berlin" which features Abbado and the Berliners in a live concert circa 1991 which features inter alia the incidental music to Egmont as well as the Choral Fantasia. I believe part of this concert can be seen on YouTube.

I must admit that Wellington's Victory is also a guilty pleasure of mine - and I spent much of my formative stereophonic years trying to figure out in which speaker Napoleon had pitched camp. Fortunately we had big burly Wharfedale speakers able to accommodate a person of the Emperor's stature plus his large excitable entourage

Best Wishes,

Tevot

https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/classical/products/8051292--beethoven-in-berlin

[kea]

A minor, but pleasant, musical discovery on TTN: 2 sonatinas for mandolin by Beethoven. These are among his 'Werke ohne Opusnummern'. Are there other 'WoO' works which are worth seeking out? And are there undiscovered treasures lurking in Koechel's 'Anhang'?
(Later) I've just watched a performance of the Piano Trio WoO 38 - certainly not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable listen.

Not exactly undiscovered, but I would name:

3 Piano Quartets, WoO 36 - among his earliest compositions but nonetheless pretty enjoyable
Andante favori, WoO 57 (original slow movement of the "Waldstein" sonata)
32 Variations on an Original Theme, WoO 80 (no idea why Beethoven never published this)
Several other sets of variations, eg on "Bei Männern" (WoO 46), a Russian dance by Wranitzky (WoO 71), "Se vuol ballare" (WoO 40)

[Richard Tarleton]

Andante favori, WoO 57 (original slow movement of the "Waldstein" sonata)

As I said in my #16 (I had to remind myself ) the first time I heard the Waldstein played live (Oxford Town Hall, 1969, Daniel Chorzempa) it was with this as the slow movement....I once heard Brendel play it as an encore after the Waldstein.....

1969 was when I discovered the Opus 126 Bagatelles - Jacob Lateiner's recording was getting a lot of plays on the Third Programme (had it become R3?). I listened to them the other night (Stephen Kovacevich) - simplicity, brevity, great profundity.

[Pianorak]

Worth mentioning perhaps are the Complete Variations for Solo Piano, most of which are WoO (Dover publication 1986), and Henle Verlag's "Beethoven Klavierstuecke" which contains Beethoven early sonatas composed while still in Bonn, and works from the Early and Later Years in Vienna. The WoO51 is a delightful two-movement Sonata ("Leichte Sonate") in G major.

[BBMmk2]

Lhyr Williams has just completed a cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas. one was played yesterday on Radio 3. not bad at all.

[Sydney Grew]

Faults in van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Faults in van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

The first two movements are superb. But the third goes on for far too long. And the fourth is simply absurd:
- double-basses do not talk
- the Turkish march is uncalled-for in that context
- shriekng sopranos will certainly wreck any symphony.
The only worthwhile part is the slow half minute with the stars, and that derives from the third symphony.

Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen

So in summary, the third movement needs to be cut to fifty per cent of its present duration, and an entirely new fourth movement needs to be written. A great fugue for grand orchestra would serve the purpose very well, in my view.

Are there any present-day composers willing to undertake these corrections?