Only nine days until Christmas. Are you feeling the heat yet?
Just remember, the Christmas season isn’t all about the gifts. It’s also about the birth of…
BEETHOVEN!
That’s right, Beethoven’s birthday is widely celebrated on today’s date. There’s no actual record of when he was born, but we know he was baptized on December 17, 1770. So it’s likely today is the anniversary of his nativity.
As you sweat it out on line at the post office or checkout counter, consider amusing yourself by contemplating what you might get classical music’s most iconic composer.
Here’s a literal wish list scrawled by Beethoven. Among the desired items: soap, a mousetrap, a knife, and a metronome. In 2011, the list sold at auction for over $73,000.
Happy birthday, Ludwig Van, with angry sugar plums dancing in your head!
More about the contents – and the context – of Beethoven’s list:
The spirit of Beethoven looms large over today’s date, as we celebrate the birthday anniversaries of Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) and Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894).
Ries, a composer of some 300 works, was Beethoven’s friend, secretary, and pupil. His volcanic symphonies emulate those of his teacher.
Rubinstein, founder of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and one of the great pianists, was long rumored to be Beethoven’s illegitimate son, so striking were the similarities of their features. If true, it would surely rank as one of the Master’s most astonishing feats, as Rubinstein was born some 20 months after Beethoven’s death!
Happy birthday, R&R!
Ferdinand Ries: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
“Grand Variations on Rule, Britannia” (a theme also treated by Beethoven)
Why this is not standard repertoire, I have no idea
More Rubinstein, beginning with his most popular melody
Summer 2022 is on the wane. Autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere at 9:04 pm EDT.
Thomas Moore’s poem, “The Last Rose of Summer,” was written in 1805. It was set to a traditional Irish tune, “Aisling an Óigfhear,” or “The Young Man’s Dream,” with words and music published together in 1813. The song proved to be a heady inspiration for dozens of composers. It’s interesting to reflect that for Beethoven and his brethren in the early 19th century, this would have been considered a contemporary hit.
Here it is, sung by Amelita Galli-Curci in 1921
Beethoven, “6 National Airs with Variations,” Op. 105, No. 4 “The Last Rose of Summer”
Ferdinand Ries, Sextet “The Last Rose of Summer” (the tune appears at 11:45)
Carl Czerny, “Variations on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’”
Felix Mendelssohn, “Fantasy on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’”
Sigismond Thalberg, “The Last Rose of Summer”
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, “Variations on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’”
Félix Godefroid
Joachim Raff
Max Reger
Paul Hindemith, “On Hearing ‘The Last Rose of Summer’”
Benjamin Britten
Friedrich von Flotow, from his opera “Martha”
“Soul of the Rose,” by John William Waterhouse (1908)
“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.”
Leonard Bernstein ought to have known. He had only 72 years to become this country’s most visible, extraordinarily versatile classical musician, as a conductor, composer, pianist, Broadway luminary, educator, author, and humanitarian. (I’m sure I left something out.)
Happy birthday, Lenny. Thanks for making the most of the time you were given.
Bernstein talks Beethoven at the piano with Maximilian Schell – and ever-present cigarette
“Rhapsody in Blue” from the keyboard, with the fearless Stanley Drucker on clarinet
Bernstein conducts “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs” on “Omnibus” in 1955
Bernstein and Aaron Copland create demo record of “Fancy Free” for Jerome Robbins. Stick around for commentary at the end, with self-incriminating interjection by Copland!
Bernstein’s sensational eleventh-hour debut with the New York Philharmonic, at 25, in 1943
Bernstein’s European conducting debut, with the Czech Philharmonic in 1946
An entire playlist of Bernstein rarities!
Conducting Shostakovich in Tokyo
Conducting Haydn – with his face
Lauren Bacall sings “The Saga of Lenny,” lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (with apologies to Kurt Weill), for Bernstein’s 70th birthday celebration
Bernstein’s death reported on ABC News in 1990
Bernstein conducts his recently-composed “Candide Overture” on a televised Young People’s Concert in 1960
Bernstein conducts Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony” as a memorial tribute, broadcast live, two days after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963
