Our letter to Beethoven on his 250th birthday! Dear Ludwig! Happy Birthday to You! I’m sorry Mate, but some facts must be stated here: you are 250 years old! There it goes, I said it! 2020 was supposed to be fun, a whole year to remember and celebrate you! In the beginning of the year, being a European citizen, my …
Beethoven’s only opera is called Leonore. Or Fidelio. Now, which one? Beethoven started working on a French libretto in 1803 that was around in Europe since the 1790s. This opera had been set by three different composers before Beethoven. The libretto was Leonore, ou l’amour conjugal (Leonore, or marital love), written by J.-N. Bouilly. The German version was adopted by …
The composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was born in Bonn (today Germany), but the family is rooted originally in the territories across the border, in modern day Belgium (Flemish territory). His grandfather, who had the same name, came to Bonn from the town of Mechelen, Austrian Duchy of Brabant at the …
1. How Beethoven related to nature? Like so many other 19th century artists, Beethoven was a fan of nature and drew a lot of inspiration from it. He thought the city, society and human communities were all saturated with contradictions, conflicts, or sins; but nature was pure and harmonious. The Sixth Symphony commemorates this joyful and peaceful feeling. 2. Did …
The question we try to answer in this article is about the role of the soloist player in a keyboard concerto. Should this musician conduct the performance as well or just play the part? Who does what and how the traditions changed during the history of music? The genre of the keyboard concerto was relatively new by the time Beethoven …
What is the full name of Beethoven’s Second Symphony? Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. Beethoven later made a transcript of the symphony for piano trio under the same opus number. When was the Second Symphony composed? Beethoven composed his Second Symphony in the summer and fall of 1802, mostly in Heiligenstadt. When and where was the premiere? …