The piano is a magnificent instrument, capable to channel the divine to our ears and hearts. It is a complicated instrument, as well. It takes two years to dry the wood used for the body, a full year and close to 12 thousand parts to build one. The piano, as we know it, was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori, around 1700. …
This article is about Beethoven’s early years in Bonn, his home city before Vienna. We will discover what compositions he made, if these were special in any way or quite the opposite. Let us find the answers to these questions! For almost two hundred years Vienna was the capital of music and all wannabes moved there to learn, shine and …
After exploring the first and second movements of Beethoven’s First Symphony, in this article we continue with the third movement. This is a short movement, a new joking (scherzo) approach from Beethoven, something he will hold dear in the future. The third movement is intended to be a joke. In the classical style before Beethoven, the third movement was often …
Was Beethoven a child prodigy? Did he show special talents in his tender age? Is he comparable to the child Mozart wonder? In this article we find the answers. We tend to believe that geniuses are easy to spot in their earliest age, but a closer look will lead us to a different conclusion. Most often adult masterminds are underperforming in …
After the first movement, we continue our analysis of Beethoven’s First Symphony with its second movement. This time we train our ears to listen to and distinguish different instruments alone and cooperating in some truly wonderful tunes. The second movement is andante cantabile con moto (walking speed with motion) and also in sonata form. This movement is said to be …
This article is the first in a series in which we will study Beethoven’s First Symphony. We learn about the historical background, the style, all the cultural influences that formed this Beethoven composition. Audio clips will help us to discover each important section of this first and magnificent symphony. Let us start our journey with Beethoven symphonies! All nine symphonies of …