Category Archives: Mozart

Day 281: Folk Songs (Last Beethoven Blog!)

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BeethovenCD86I would have preferred to end my eye-opening journey through complete works of Ludwig van Beethoven with symphonic music, like a piano trio or a symphony or even a violin concerto.

As it is, finishing today – 86 days after I started listening to Beethoven – with these folk songs kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed this musical exploration. Or that I intensely dislike what I’m hearing this morning.

On the contrary, Beethoven was as big a thrill to me as when I listened to Mozart for 180 days (his complete works on 180 CDs) a few years ago.

Maybe more so.

Definitely more so.

Beethoven took me by surprise. Totally.

I had no idea Beethoven was this rich, complex, emotional, melodic, and profound. The word deep comes to mind most often when I consider Beethoven’s music. Yet, that’s not even the word I’m looking for. It’s a combination of deep, rich, emotional, melodic, et al. All together.

By way of contrast, when I listened to the complete works of Haydn, I got little out of it other than 150 days of effort. I don’t remember a single melody, most likely because I never heard one that stuck with me. Frankly, Haydn bored me.

Mozart was a blast to study. I learned a great deal – but Continue reading →

Day 211: Music for Wind Ensemble II

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BeethovenCD16Beethoven CD 16 begins with a militaristic fanfare. Quite rousing.

Makes me want to march off to war.

There are 12 different compositions on this CD, six very short (march-style) pieces at the start, following by:

Quintet in E Flat Hess 19

Adagio for 3 horns in F

3 Equale Wo030 for 4 trombones

Trio in C Op 87 for 2 oboes and cor anglais

Variations in C for 2 oboes and cor anglais on Mozart’s La Ci Darem La Mano.

Allegro and Minuet in G Wo026

Once again, the Ottetto Italiano performs, this time with members of the Orchestra da Camera di Genova.

Once I got past the march music in the first six tracks, I was treated to more delightful music for my favorite orchestra instruments, including the French horn. Plus, there are the Variations in C for 2 oboes and the English horn (cor anglais) from Mozart’s 1787 opera Don Giovanni.

Very pretty stuff.

Day 197: Beethoven Symphonies 2 & 4

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BeethovenCD2Like yesterday’s CD, today’s offering of Beethoven symphonies (No. 2 and No. 4 this time) are mature, melodic, dynamic, remarkably listenable, and enjoyable from start to finish.

And, like yesterday, I have to admit I had no idea Beethoven was this good.

I’m sure Schroeder (from Peanuts fame) would cluck his tongue at my ignorance regarding his favorite composer.

Schroeder
But I can’t know everything about everything. I mean, come on.

I’m only human.

Beethoven’s symphonies are both dynamic and delicate, with boisterous passages as well as gentle ones. Plus, the choice of instruments and what they play is masterful. I find myself leaning forward to hear every note.

I didn’t do that with Haydn. (Well, maybe once or twice.)

I did it with Mozart. A lot. But rarely with Haydn.

And, so far, I’m doing it with every composition from Beethoven.

According to Wikipedia, “Symphony No. 2 in D major (Op. 36) is a symphony in four movements written by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1801 and 1802. The work is dedicated to Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky.” Which means Beethoven was 32 when he finished Symphony No. 2. (And 33 when it premiered.)

From its entry on Wiki:

Beethoven’s Second Symphony was mostly written during Beethoven’s stay at Heiligenstadt in 1802, at which time his deafness was becoming more apparent and he began to realize that it might be incurable. The work was premiered in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 5 April 1803, and was conducted by the composer. During that same concert, the Third Piano Concerto and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also debuted. It is one of the last works of Beethoven’s so-called “early period”.

For example, Movement III (“Scherzo & Trio: Allegro”) from Symphony No. 2 in D. Op. 36 is particularly captivating. Lots of clever little Continue reading →

Day 80: More Songs

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HaydnCD80Today’s CD is simply called Songs II. But it’s different from yesterdays Songs in that these selections are not sung in English. They’re in German.

Which means all I can go on to comment is the tone and range of soprano Elly Ameling’s voice, and the playing and tone of pianist Jorg Demus. I can’t even suss out what the song titles mean.

Given the stripped-down aspect of these Songs performances, it’s akin to listening to little operas. Only with just one voice. And one instrument. Hearing German performed in this way makes the harshness of the language stand out in a way that one might not notice if it were buried under layers of orchestra and performed by a cast of actors/singers.

So, in some way, today’s CD makes me chuckle. I love the German language. But heard this way makes it sound even funnier.

Before I comment any more, I’ll Continue reading →

Day 26: The Queen and Me

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HaydnCD26Symphony No. 85 in B Flat “La Reine” (The Queen) is familiar to me, especially Movement III (“Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto”). I hear it now and then on the local Classical radio station.

This is a very, very good symphony.

It sounds so much like a symphony from that era that it very well could be the quintessential symphony, Plato’s Symphony — the idealized prototype for all symphonies.

The fourth of the six-part Paris Symphonies, No. 85 was composed in 1785 or 1786. Like the preceding three — and subsequent two — No. 85 sounds rich and full, with a depth and complexity that could only have come from a mature Haydn, one in command of his talents, confident and assured in his gift for composition. He was 53 or 54.

This is another Haydn symphony that I dub “favorite.”

521px-Marie-Antoinette;_koningin_der_FransenWhy is it called The Queen? According to its entry on Wikipedia:

The nickname “La Reine” originated because the work was a favorite of Marie Antoinette, at the time Queen of France. It is the only one of the Paris symphonies whose nickname is of 18th-century origin.

Symphony No. 86 in D is no slouch, though. From the get-go, Movement I (“Adagio – Allegro spiritoso”) stirs my soul and puts a smile on my face. When I think of what a symphony (at least the Continue reading →

Day 8: Alleluja, Indeed

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Haydn008I was grumpy as a sleeping bear this morning – until the first notes of Haydn’s Symphony No. 30 in C (nicknamed “Alleluia”) filled my ears.

Wow.

This is an extraordinary work, so perfectly crafted, so expertly arranged, that it drew me in immediately.

According to its entry on Wiki,

It is nicknamed the Alleluia Symphony because of Haydn’s use of a Gregorian Alleluia chant in the opening movement…

The Alleluia chant of the first movement has been confused with the principal melodic line in the finale of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C major. Mozart did use this Alleluia chant melody for his Alleluia Canon, K. 533, written shortly after he completed his C major symphony. 

The work is scored for flute, two oboes, bassoon, two horns, trumpets, timpani and strings with continuo.

To my (admittedly untrained) ears, Movement I (“Allegro”) is unlike the other Movement I allegros that Haydn composed in previous symphonies. This allegro is just as quick, to be sure, but the instruments LarrySelfPortrait2 copyintertwine each other like Larry, our cat, winds in and out of our legs when he wants breakfast each morning – and, likely, for the same reason: they want something. My attention. In this case, they got it. From the first five notes.

Even the Andante Movement II doesn’t retard my joy as a slower movement often does. This movement is punctuated with flute and oboe solos (and a happy sounding violin chorus) that makes the whole thing sound like the score of Continue reading →