Nobody went to his 250th birthday party. But was he bitter?
Naaaaaa…
Happy 251st, Beethoven!
For another festive occasion: musicians of the Southwest German Radio Orchestra surprise Sir Roger Norrington on his 84th birthday with this playful arrangement of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony.
Norrington, now 87, retired from the podium on November 18.
How to spoil your shot at a dedication!
Ludwig van Beethoven had recently completed his Symphony No. 3 under the giddy influence of an idealized Napoleon Bonaparte. As a statesman and military leader who was well on his way to conquering (or as Beethoven may have seen it, liberating) most of Europe, Napoleon was deemed by the composer to be on equal footing with the greatest consuls of Ancient Rome.
The egalitarian-minded Beethoven may have been blinded by his revolutionary fervor, but once he learned that Napoleon had been proclaimed Emperor on this date in 1804, the scales dropped from his eyes and his affection curdled. He is alleged to have said, “So he is no more than a common mortal! Now, too, he will tread under foot all the rights of Man, indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men, become a tyrant!” In a fury, he scratched out the symphony’s original dedication.
Later, once he had cooled, Beethoven confided to his publisher that the proper title of the symphony should be “Bonaparte.” Instead, it was released under the name “Sinfonia Eroica” – “Heroic Symphony.” The revised dedication reads, “Composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.”
Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony is regarded as one of the most significant works of the early 19th century. With its structural breadth and emotional scope, the work exploded the boundaries of symphonic form as it was recognized at the time. In his way, Beethoven managed to win as much new ground as Napoleon. Unlike Napoleon, however, he was able to keep it. And he holds it still.
BEETHOVEN BIRTHDAY BASH
WWFM – The Classical Network’s symphony marathon continues, with the shot heard ‘round the musical world.
NOW PLAYING: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major “Eroica” (Concertgebouw Orchestra/Erich Kleiber)
Twice as long as the standard “classical” symphony of the 18th century and encompassing a much broader emotional range, Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony was written in a euphoria of political idealism. The composer had been a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, believing him to embody the democratic ideals of the French Revolution; but when Napoleon declared himself emperor, Beethoven tore up the original dedication in a fury. The work was published as “Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.”
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The Marlboro Music Festival is recognized far and wide as a chamber music mecca. Summer after summer, Marlboro Music brings together classical music luminaries and rising young talent, as it continues to add links to a chain, begun by Rudolf Serkin, Adolf Busch, Marcel Moyse, and the rest, all the way back in 1951.
Though chamber music is indeed Marlboro’s principal area of focus, every once in a while it’s fun to get everyone together to do a reading from the orchestral literature. On this week’s “Music from Marlboro,” we’ll listen in on one such occasion, as Marlboro players perform under the loving direction of Pablo Casals.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the “Eroica (written in 1803-04) is enshrined in the history books as one of the torches that touched off the Romantic Era, but, on closer inspection, the composer was already playing with black powder in his Symphony No. 2.
In his second symphony, completed two years earlier, Beethoven swaps out the Haydn-issue minuet for a scherzo, a move that would be emulated so frequently by other composers that it became the new standard.
“Scherzo” is Italian for “joke,” and the last two movements of Beethoven’s symphony are full of them. I can’t say that they’re knee-slappers, but the composer plays enough with convention that it triggered a smart backlash from critics at the work’s premiere. One critic described the symphony as “a hideously writhing, wounded dragon that refuses to die, but writhing in its last agonies and, in the fourth movement, bleeding to death.”
Ouch!
I don’t think it’s anyone’s favorite Beethoven symphony, but in the hands of Pablo Casals, it is given a little more dignity than usual, in part because he just lets the music do its thing. There are no volcanic shifts in dynamics or hairpin turns in tempi. Many conductors interpret the earlier symphonies of Beethoven with retroactive insight, imposing a degree of vehemence more appropriate to the angrier passages of the 5th or the 9th. Casals non-interventionist approach allows the music to speak for itself.
We’ll hear a performance from the 1969 Marlboro Music Festival. Casals directs a performance brimming with affection, and his players responding accordingly.
Then, to fill out the remainder of the hour, we’ll find further delight in music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – his Sonata in B-flat for Bassoon and Cello, K. 292. The 1975 performance will feature bassoonist Alexander Heller and a 19 year-old cellist named Yo-Yo Ma, also evidently having a good time.
We’ll let the music do the talking, on the next “Music from Marlboro,” this Wednesday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Marlboro School of Music and Festival: Official Page
PHOTOS: Casals tames the dragon
For Arturo Toscanini, apparently, it was all about that bass:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-1KtSOwLXE
Toscanini was as notorious for his rafter-rattling temper tantrums as he was for his alleged fidelity to the score. The man was driven by demons in his quest for perfection. His evident frustration with the inability of his players to deliver existed in parallel with an over-stated humility in the face of his own limitations. Here was a perfectionist living in an imperfect world, and Toscanini spared no one, not even himself. His intensity was electric. There were times when conductor and orchestra seemed to skirt, on two wheels, the very mouth of the Abyss.
It would be unrealistic to expect to capture lightning in a bottle every single time. But it happened with Toscanini surprisingly often. Join me today on The Classical Network for the most hair-raising recording of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony you will ever hear. Toscanini flays the NBC Symphony Orchestra to the limits of endurance in this legendary performance, given on October 28, 1939. This is not an “Eroica” for every day, and it is certainly not an “Eroica” for the weak of heart. Those with pre-existing medical conditions are advised to turn off their radios following my salute to Haydn Wood.
Everyone else, hang on tight, as we celebrate the birthday of Arturo Toscanini – and Béla Bartók, for that matter – from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
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