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LUDWIG
VON BEETHOVEN
Why Has This Man Come To Trouble Us? The following introductory spiel was orated by Nadia in gratitude for the support and accolades that she received in light of her performances and the efforts that she had extolled: "YOU WERE always such enthusiastic supporters of my concerts. YOU GAVE me inspiration & desire to create my concerts. YOU GAVE me the opportunity to fulfil my dreams for 15 years. I thank you for it, and I hope that I have made a contribution to society too". Nadia then went on to thank fellow music colleauges for their belief and enduring support in her quest to highlight the beauty of art and music in a form for the masses. Such sentiments are expressed below, with a delightful sense of humour and admiration: "I must thank my dear friend, cellist David Pereira, for believing in me right from the first concert we played together in 1981, again in 1985 & 1995, and today we will be playing together again." "We will also be joined by the well-known violinist, Vincent Edwards, who is also the head of the string department at the Canberra School of Music. I, also, was fortunate to get for my concert, a lovely baritone and a charming man, William Moxey, from Sydney." "Sounds like three charming men and a rose." The inspiration behind the 170th anniversary concert of Beethoven was born from the many voyages of Nadia through Austria and Europe. It is 170 years ago, on March 24th, When Ludwig F. Van Beethoven finished and signed his last quartet. Unfortunately, he was very sick. He asked for the last rites. Suddenly, a racing storm broke out on the city. Beethoven raised his arm, stretched out his hand to the sky and cried: "Plaudite amici finita est comedia - trans: Applaud friends, the comedy is finished". Then, he fell back motionless. Beethoven died at the age of 56 but, his name lives on forever. His funeral in Vienna was an enormous affair, with an estimated crowd of 10, 000. People expressed a deep sense of mourning for the dead prince of composers. He was an artist but, also a man in every sense. He shut himself off in his world of deafness from the world and from his fellow men. What follows is an examination of his life, passions and loves. Ludwig F. Van Beethoven was born in Bonn, in December 1770, in a modest house overgrown with ivy. Beethoven's mother was Magdalena Kowerich. A woman of humble background but, she gave birth to one of the greatest musical geniuses the world has ever known. Ludwig's love for his mother was deep and unfaltering. He grew up in an atmosphere of rustic simplicity, and his childhood was not a happy one. His father was bad-tempered, eccentric and mentally unbalanced but, he quickly recognised that little Ludwig possessed and exceptional talent. The father was Ludwig's first music teacher, being a musician himself but, his method of teaching was harsh and often senseless. He forced his son to practise for hours at the harpsichord in the middle of the night. Ludwig later confessed "that he often thought of giving up his music". At the age of 7, Ludwig gave his first recital, and his father was turning him into a child prodigy. Ludwig had a striking and rather coarse appearance. He had disorderly hair and was stockily built. A dimple on the right side of his chin gave him a curious asymetry. His personality was a mixture of shyness and honesty, obstinacy and resolution, sadness and a desire to be loved. In the gymnasium, he studied Italian, Latin and French. Later, he was a student of German literature at the University of Bonn. He liked to take long walks along the Rhine. This left him with the fondest memories of his childhood. Christian Neefe, a very distinguished musician, was his next piano teacher. He understood Ludwig's deep sensitivity and guided him gently. After a few years of association with the maestro, Beethoven produced his first composition, three sonatas, nine variations, rondo and a piano concerto. He also learned to play the organ. As a young man, he was appointed as a second organist with a considerable yearly salary. But the artistic atmosphere of Bonn was getting too confining for him. Ludwig was dreaming to go to Vienna, as he desired to meet Mozart. Soon, he obtained permission, and left Bonn in a severe winter, travelling in a stagecoach for almost a month to reach Vienna. When he arrived there, Mozart received him and gave him an audition. He was very impressed by the young composer's genius. He was deeply moved and accepted him as his pupil. At the musical soiree, he announced to his friends: "The world shall speak on this youth". Beethoven was 17 years old at that time but, he had no fear or hesitation to play and improvised for Mozart, and Mozart introduced him into the Viennese society. Six months later, Beethoven's stay in Vienna was tragically interrupted. His mother was dying and he immediately returned to Bonn to be at her side. She had been a good and loving mother, and his best friend. Some time later, composer Joseph Haydyn was invited to visit Bonn. On that occasion, he was asked to listen to the contata for 'Death of Joseph II', composed by Beethoven. Haydyn was genuinely impressed by the talented composer and he made an unexpected proposal. He invited Beethoven to Vienna to study music with him. Beethoven accepted and with the financial help of his friends, he went to Vienna for the second time. He was eager to study with Haydyn but, the old and placid maestro was too involved with his own creative work and took little interest in his spirited pupil. Beethoven began secretly to study with other musicians. At that time, Beethoven already had access to Viennese society. He ordered fashionable clothes and even took dancing lessons. In the princely homes of Vienna, he appeared severe and dignified. But, he also loved to spend time with a lively circle of friends, meeting them in cafes, and he even learned to drink champagne and often surprised his companions by his humour. He scored his first victory in Vienna playing his 'Piano Concerto No. 2'. This was music charged with meaning and depth unknown to the Viennese audience. The public applauded enthusiastically but asked uneasily "Why has this man come to trouble us?" Until then, even the great Haydyn wrote music mostly for the ballroom. Now, this 25 year old lion demanded attention with his powerful and philosophical music. "He made them think". The Viennese aristocracy understood the genius and took him on his way to fame. Until 1796, Beethoven was known in Vienna and in Germany as a virtuoso, and not as a composer. Only later, did his music come into prominence with the: 'Sonata Pathetique', the 'Spring Violin Sonata' and 'Eroica'. His skill as a pianist opened to him an exciting career as a concert artist. He played in Prague, Nuremburg, Dresden and Berlin. The composer Cherubini expressed the most reliable view of Beethoven as a pianist. He declared "that his manner of playing was harsh and amplified by excessive use of the pedal but, that his technique was daring and his touch, especially in 'Cantable', was almost of sublime softness". Before playing, he used to run his fingers along the whole length of the keyboard, like a mischevious child amusing himself. Love worked on Beethoven like a tonic. When he was in love, he became witty, polite, patient and dressed with a certain refinement. He wanted to please and he knew how to please. Although he was short-sighted, with small-pox scars on his face, and possessing a stern appearance, he still appealed to women who were attracted to his for his genius as a musician. He always loved pretty women of high rank. Those who were close to Beethoven confirm that the great musician had been in love with different women all his life. Among the first women for whom he had a great passion was Giulietta Gucciardi, a young girl of Italian extraction. To her, he dedicated the haunting 'Moonlight Sonata'. But, she wasn't worthy of the great man's love. She married an Italian count, and went to live in Naples. Later, she found herself in financial difficulty and asked Ludwig for help. He sent her money immediately. She came to Vienna and wanted to see him but, he refused. Yet, he suffered deeply for this woman and even thought that for her sake, he would have abandoned music forever. Then, he fell in love with a young Hungarian, Maria-Therese von Brunswick. She came from an aristocratic family that had received him kindly when he come to Vienna. He became friendly with her brother and her sister, Josephine. The two sisters became his pupils. A year later, Maria-Therese and Ludwig became engaged. The deep love he felt for her was expressed in the '4th Symphony', the '6th Symphony/Pastoral', and the 'Sonata Appassionata'. However, their dream was shattered. Her mother made it clear that she wished her daughter to marry someone of aristocratic birth. The two lovers didn't see each other again but, Marie-Therese didn't forget Ludwig, and she refused to marry. She gave Beethoven her portrait with the description "To the genius without equal, to the great artist and to a worthy man". During the intense period of his love for Marie-Therese, Beethoven met another woman named Bettina von Bretono. Beautiful, intelligent, she had lively dark eyes and the naïve appearance of a young girl. She sensed Beethoven's suffering after the broken engagement with Therese and succeeded in relieving his sadness. To her friend, the poet Goethe, she wrote: "Near Beethoven, I have forgotten the world and you, O'Goethe". Another of Beethoven's fleeting loves was the beautiful Therese Malfatti. Saucy and exuberant, 'The Flighty Therese', Beethoven called her. She played the piano with great skill and possessed a sensual contralto voice. After Beethoven's death, 3 letters were found addressed to an unknown woman. These are letters of passionate love for an 'Immortal Beloved', who shares fully the feeling of the composer but, who can't marry him. Was she already married? Were the letters sent to the mystery woman or were they returned by her to Beethoven? There was a rumour that Beethoven was not in love with Marie-Therese but, with her sister Josephine and that she was the 'Immortal Beloved'. The romantic mystery remains unsolved. In the spring of 1801, Beethoven played at the house of some friends. The elegant men and ladies gathered around him realised, suddenly, that in the pianissimi, Beethoven's hands hardly touched the keyboard. Wondering, they did not realise that he was already deaf. The maestro imagined that the keys released delicate notes. Instead, his fingers moved lightly in silence. Although he was gradually losing his hearing and an annoying whistling noise echoed constantly in his ears, Beethoven told no-one about it. Later, Ludwig finally confided to his friend, Karl Amenda, the mental agony imposed on him by deafness: "Your Beethoven is terribly unhappy. My illness grows worse, I do not know whether I shall ever recover. It is almost two years since I have given up the company of other people. I could not bear that anyone should raise his voice so that I could hear". Beethoven's deafness was due to the growth of a spongy bone inside the ear. However, the large hearing aids of the nineteenth century drew ridicule and did not help the hearing. Having completed the second and third symphonies, Beethoven faced a deep crisis. It is believed that he was so depressed that he had contemplated suicide. He wrote a letter called 'Testament'. It opened with the following words: "Fellow men, what humiliation if someone near me heard distant flute and I hear nothing. If someone heard a shepard sing and I still heard nothing, these events lead me to despair. I almost took my own life. Only music could hold me back. I felt it impossible to leave this world before having fulfilled my calling. Only this preserved my wretched life". Deafness compelled Beethoven to stop playing the piano. He gave himself up completely to composition, thus giving the world some of the greatest music ever written. Beethoven found consolation in nature from physical and moral distress. The 'Oral Symphony' is a hymn to the countryside. He loved walking alone in the fields and through the woods wrapped in his blue frockcoat, his hands behind his back. While walking, he talked and sang to himself. Sometimes, he would sit under a tree with a notebook and a pen. He wrote musical notations. He had come to the point of admitting "I love a tree more than a man; woods and rocks give the answers one expects". He wrote to Therese Malfatti: "I have fun like a child. What joy in wandering through the meadows among trees and flowers. It seems to me impossible that anyone can love nature as I do". While the Viennese believed that Beethoven's creative power was diminishing, he worked on his symphony 'Wellington's Victory'. He was urged by his friends to write an opera. He set to work to write the opera 'Fidelio', and another musical composition for the stage 'Egmont Overture', a drama by Goethe. For years, Beethoven worked on his 'Missa Solemnis'. Missa was a declaration of personal faith. The composition of the 'Missa Solemnis' marked a deepening of his faith in God. Although ill and worried, Beethoven found strength to compose his most monumental work, the '9th Symphony'. Its last movement was inspired by Schiller's 'Ode to Joy'. When word spread that he had composed a new symphony, he was urged to have it performed as soon as possible. Yet, what a message could a deaf musician give to humanity after so many years of silence? The Viennese waited expectantly to hear the music. Finally, on May 7, 1824, the performance took place. The hall was overflowing with people. Beethoven, seated in the orchestra, his back turned to the audience, heard nothing; not even the great ovation at the end. One of the singers had to take him by the hand and turn him toward the public so that he could see the riot of appreciation. The maestro bowed. When he lifted his head, his eyes were full of tears. When it was over, he fainted. Although suffering from gout and weak eyesight, Beethoven was planning a tenth symphony. He still worked on his last quartet for strings and his requiem. With these works, he planned to inaugurate a new phase in his music. The publishers found in Beethoven a prolific
composer whose work was much in demand and earned them good returns.
His catalogued compositions number 138. His entire work consists of: Beethoven was an important song composer. His songs are frequently performed and recorded. After Beethoven's death, his friends collected the objects that had been silent companions in his life. The house in Bonn where he was born became a museum in which these relics were gathered. The most important objects in the collection are the pianos used by the maestro. Each one of them has a story. One of these instruments, which was bought for him by Prince Lichnousky in 1803, failed to please him because of a certain lack of sonority. His favourite piano was the "Broadwood", a sturdy and powerful instrument with perfect action. One asks the question: "Why did
this man come into this world to trouble us?" Let us say that
Beethoven and his music revealed to us the deep meaning of the human
heart. He came to express the profound meaning of nature's marvels,
and he made us think. |