Beethoven and his Music

Thanks,
Now lets see if it takes wing
Purnendu

it should

Caw, Caw,-Flap, Flap!

OK,
Let me try again. Has anyone heard the symphonies performed on period instruments? I have not. What are the differences. Is it a straight forward matter of tempo and intervals between notes. I read somewhere that one of the big differences between modern interpretations and the original ones is that the older performances were played at a much higher speed. I wonder if this would not change the entire character of the performance including the very mood of the music. If there is anyone who has heard period performances it would nice to have an input.

A second observation for possible discussion is the kind of mood his music is expected to convey. There is a good deal of Beethoven (some of his sextets and quartets) which are quite different from the usual "sturm and drang" that one has come to associate him with. Barring the moonlight sonata most of his popular stuff are all in the heavy emotion category. Howcome? Could it be that the performances have become shaped in response to our expectations of what to expect from a Beethoven composition.
In contrast, from a composer like chopan we expect 'namby pamby' stuff (at least I did) until I heard his piano concertos, which have quite deep mood swings. In a nut shell if Beethoven performances are evolving to suit changing tastes and times, which is the real Beethoven.

Purnendu

purnendu,

I havent heard beethoven on piriod instruments but I know that a pianist called cyrus chestnut plays period instruments....maybe he's recorded a concert of two ?

I did hear some mozart on period instrument in salzburg many years ago and it sure sounded a bit different. Dont know about the tempo as I wasnt familiar with the pieces.

You are right about chopin's piano concerto's. But even his other peices like nocturnes I would not call them "namby pamby" . very sweet, beautiful music though.

Manek.

Hi,

I haven't heard any live performances on period instruments - just have some recordings from the Baroque period.

First, you have to adjust to the sound of period instruments - their tonality and sonority is different from current day instruments. I feel current day instruments sound livelier and have a more extended range. So, listening to period instruments really does convey the sounds of that time!

The sound of the period ensemble may also be reflected in changes in tempi. That's an area of interpretation anyway, so there's no right or wrong way. Maybe, that's what makes classical music ever fresh - we keep hearing music with new insights!

Viren.

Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, als Sohn einer Musikerfamilie geboren, fiel früh durch seine außergewöhnliche musikalische Begabung auf. 1792 schickte ihn der Bonner Kurfürst nach Wien, um ihm dort eine Vervollkommnung seiner Kenntnisse durch Unterricht bei Joseph Haydn zu ermöglichen. In Wien machte Beethoven schnell als Pianist und Improvisator von sich reden. Allerdings erschreckte sein für die damalige Zeit ungewöhnlich schroffes Verhalten gegenüber Vertretern der Aristokratie. 1801 machten sich Anzeichen einer Ertaubung bemerkbar, 1810 war Beethoven fast völlig ertaubt. Seine Taubheit wurde von Zeitgenossen häufig als Begründung für die Unverständlichkeit seiner späten Werke angeführt. Beethoven war einer der ersten unabhängigen, freischaffenden Musiker. Anders als noch Mozart und Haydn, finanzierte er sich nicht über eine feste Hofanstellung, sondern lebte von seiner Musik - und der Förderung durch Sponsoren. Das ermöglichte ihm, losgelöst von den Forderungen und dem Geschmack seiner Zeit, kompromisslos seinen eigenen, oft als "heroisch-pathetisch" bezeichneten, aber auch wandlungsfähigen Stil zu entwickeln. Und es gab so gut wie keine Gattung, in der Beethoven nicht mit ungeheurer Intensität und intellektueller Schärfe Revolutionäres schuf. Von der Kammer- und Klaviermusik über die großen Solo-Konzerte und seine neun Symphonien, die ebenso wie seine Oper "Fidelio" von Ideen der Ethik und Humanität geprägt sind, bis hin zu den progressiven späten Streichquartetten, schuf Beethoven ein Opus Magnus des "Klassischen" schlechthin. Seine Werke avancierten zum zentralen Bestandteil des Konzertrepertoires und wurden zum - oftmals auch belastenden! - Vorbild wie zur Herausforderung für viele nachfolgenden Komponisten

Sorry it is in German.

Will try and get it translated.

Bhagwan,
Could you or someone who knows german tranlate the gist of that. Going by the dates sounds like a chronological note or is it?
Purnendu

bombaywalla knows german I think and so does Jochen. maybe either one of them can help s out.

Bhagwan posting in german.....

manek.