December 17, 2020, marks the 250th birth anniversary of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Among the most-cherished experiences of my musical career are the opportunities I have had to perform Beethoven’s complete string quartets and cello sonatas, and revisiting his compositions always yields new insights that often extend far beyond the music itself.
The French Revolution motto of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” resonates as a revolutionary subtext in Beethoven’s symphonies, and the “Ode to Joy” movement of his Symphony No. 9 comes across to me as a powerful musical statement of his belief that social transformation is possible. Uniting words and music for the first time in a historically instrumental genre, Beethoven adds the line “and all men become brothers” to Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” text. Martin Luther King, Jr. refers to this line in his “I Have a Dream” speech of 1963 when he speaks of transforming “the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.” For both Beethoven and King, the “Ode to Joy” symbolizes the path to a brighter future, to a truly equal and just society.
But how do we get there? Beethoven, whose Symphony No. 5 (with the famous short-short-short-long “fate” motif) traces a journey from adversity to triumph, was all about confronting and overcoming obstacles. And in a letter to a young student, Beethoven wrote: “Persevere…The true artist laments that he has not yet reached the point to which his better genius only lights the way for him, like a distant sun.” Beethoven’s words ring true to me as a reminder that answers can be found only if we relentlessly search for them. As in the Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven moves beyond the sadness and struggle of life to the possibilities that make that struggle worthwhile. The “Ode to Joy” adds a universal dimension to our individual efforts, suggesting that persevering with and for each other makes the journey a fulfillment in itself.
One of the younger conductors who are helping us hear Beethoven’s music with fresh ears is the Colombian-born Andres Orozco-Estrada, whose impetuous interpretation of the Fifth Symphony with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony really brings out the element of resistance that made the opening motif an obvious choice as the musical symbol of the French anti-Nazi fighters of World War II. In contrast, Leonard Bernstein’s performance with the Vienna Philharmonic allows the pace of the first movement to slacken at times almost to a standstill (e.g., in the oboe cadenza near the end of the movement), as if the thoughts of resignation to one’s fate might take over, as they almost did when Beethoven wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament. Resistance or resignation? Take the journey with Beethoven and I’m sure you’ll find inspiration in his answer.
| Copyright © 2020 by Geoffrey Dean |
Beautiful idea, and a wonderful piece by Geoffrey.
ReplyDeleteWe well know the tragedy of this arguably greatest of composers who lost his hearing. Even though Beethoven could hear nothing of the extraordinary music he continued to write, he apparently heard it all with his spiritual sense. His inner spirituality triumphed and the world was blessed.
What a message for this year's sad season: even with the loss of our physical senses, an Ode to Joy is always waiting to be heard.
Sad perhaps, but one might wonder if he would have written the 9th if he HADN'T lost his hearing?
DeleteWas he inspired by that challenge?
You invited Neil and me to enjoy Beethoven’s 250th birthday by listening to some of his music! And we did!
ReplyDeleteMy final Zoom meeting on Monday included my comment that plays are continually being reimagined by directors, designers, and actors. I did not make the connection to musical compositions. Hopefully, I'll remember next time.
ReplyDeleteFilms, too, and what about the painting and sculpting of figures, faces, landscapes, still lifes? (Realist... impressionist... cubist... expressionist.) And the telling and retelling of myths and other works of narrative imagination? Hmm, even revisions to the accounts of the universe composed by experimental and theoretical science?
DeleteExcellent Ode to Beethoven, Geoff. The following line from the middle of your post posits a compelling answer to question of "What is the purpose of our lives?":
ReplyDelete"The 'Ode to Joy' adds a universal dimension to our individual efforts, suggesting that persevering with and for each other makes the journey a fulfillment in itself."
Wonderful! Loved this post. ��
ReplyDeleteThank you, Morris, for sending this my way. Geoffrey is, I am sure, a fine musician and obviously quite the writer. I am sure that you are very proud of him.
ReplyDeleteYou know, all my life I have been aware of Beethoven and I have heard Leonard Bernstein's name mentioned many times over the years. But I have never really paid that much attention to either of them. I've just never been a big fan of this type of music. It's not that I don't like it, or appreciate it. It's just not music that I generally listen to. But, after taking the time to view what you have shared with me, I must say that I am thoroughly fascinated with the performances of Bernstein and the orchestras that he led. I am so impressed by the fact that each and every musician seems to play their instruments perfectly and at precisely the right time. How could anyone not admire this? And Bernstein's movements and facial expressions, are nothing less than spellbinding. I have truly enjoyed what I now consider to be my first serious look at Beethoven's music and at Bernstein. Again, I want to thank you for enlightening me. Please take care and goodbye for now.
Steven Weller shared a joke about Beethoven, which I – unsure about its propriety for remembering Beethoven’s birthday – ran by my son. Geoff was familiar with the joke and said it was a classic. Quite all right to share it. He even told me another joke, which I will tell you...after I let you read Steve’s joke:
ReplyDeleteWhen Beethoven passed away, he was buried in a churchyard.
A couple days later, the town drunk was walking through the cemetery and heard some strange noise coming from the area where Beethoven was buried.
Terrified, the drunk ran and got the priest to come and listen to it.
The priest bent close to the grave and heard some faint, unrecognizable music coming from the grave.
Frightened, the priest ran and got the town magistrate. When the magistrate arrived, he bent his ear to the grave, listened for a moment, and said, "Ah, yes, that’s Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, being played backwards.” He listened a while longer, and said, “There’s the Eighth Symphony, and it’s backwards, too. Most puzzling.”
So the magistrate kept listening; “There’s the Seventh… the Sixth… the Fifth…” Suddenly the realization of what was happening dawned on the magistrate; he stood up and announced to the crowd that had gathered in the cemetery, “My fellow citizens, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just Beethoven decomposing.
And this from Geoff:
There’s a joke about former Bulgarian president Todor Zhivkov’s conflating Goethe, Mozart, and Beethoven when visiting a Goethe monument in Germany. He says, “I know Goethe: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik – da-da-da - DUM!”
I believe this is the first time I have heard more than the first few familiar minutes of Beethoven’s 5th. Of course I was familiar with the famous “da-da-da-DUM!”, but really enjoyed listening to the whole piece twice. It made me regret giving up the playing of my Cello after 6th grade. Now I need to go listen to more. Thanks Geoff for your piece and for inspiring this soul to go back and take a listen!
ReplyDeleteI thought Geof’s essay very well done.
ReplyDeleteI could weigh in on the extensive discussions in the clinical literature relating to the cause of Beethoven’s deafness and death but that’s far less important, far less enrapturing and far less immortal than “Ode to Joy,” or Schiller’s poem which Beethoven co-opted. The second stanza:
Whoever has succeeded in the great attempt,
To be a friend's friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Add his to the jubilation!
Yes, and also whoever has just one soul
To call his own in this world!
And he who never managed it should slink
Weeping from this union!
Have as wonderful a holiday as you can manage in these times.
I wish you all a healthful and peaceful 2021.