Tag Archives: Ludwig van Beethoven

Listening to Beethoven #143 – Neue Liebe, neues Leben WoO 127

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Neue Liebe neues LebenPeanuts comic strip, drawn by Charles M. Schulz (c)PNTS

Neue Liebe, neues Leben WoO 127 for voice and piano (1798-99, Beethoven aged 28)

Dedication not known
Text Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Duration 3′

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Background and Critical Reception

The third of Beethoven’s songs thought to be written in 1799 – and the third different language!

Susan Nouen, in some impressively detailed notes accompanying Signum’s disc of Beethoven Lieder with Ann Murray, recounts the composer’s history with this particular song. ‘The words…were borne of Goethe’s brief betrothal for some months in 1775 to Anne Elisabeth Schönemann’, who he nicknamed ‘Lili’. Their engagement ran into trouble because of her social circle, but her presence stayed with the poet. ‘She was the first woman I truly and deeply loved’, he said. ‘I can also say that she was the last’.

Beethoven identified strongly with this poem, setting it first in sketches in 1792, then this version, and then his final encounter with the text as Op.75/2.

Thoughts

A song of great urgency and concentrated feeling. Most of Beethoven’s writing is for the upper range of the tenor voice, and with quite short notes too – the singer is not allowed to rest at any point. Although in C major the song has no sense of repose, and Goethe’s words are delivered almost breathlessly. It will be interesting to see the music Beethoven finally brings to this text, for this is restless and less than comfortable.

Recordings used and Spotify links

Peter Maus (tenor), Hans Hilsdorf (piano)

 

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1799 Salieri Falstaff o sia Le tre burle

Next up Piano Sonata no.9 in E major Op.14/1

Listening to Beethoven #142 – Plaisir d’aimer WoO 128

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plaisir-daimer
Peanuts comic strip, drawn by Charles M. Schulz (c)PNTS

Plaisir d’aimer WoO 128 for voice and piano (1798-99, Beethoven aged 28)

Dedication not known
Text Anon

Duration 1’15”

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Background and Critical Reception

This Romance has a text of unknown source, set to music by Beethoven either in late 1798 or early 1799. Beethoven hardly set any songs in French, so this is a notable if very short piece of work, lasting little over a minute.

The singer is worried about the power a lover can have over their soul, and that they might lose their peace in pursuit of a happiness that is far from guaranteed.

Thoughts

A short song, and a worrisome one too. The vocal melody is simple but affected, followed closely by the piano.

Recordings used and Spotify links

Peter Schreier (tenor), Walter Olbertz (piano)

Pamela Coburn & Leonard Hokanson

 

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1799 Salieri Falstaff o sia Le tre burle

Next up Neue Liebe, neues Leben, WoO 127

Listening to Beethoven #141 – La tiranna WoO 125

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tiranna
Peanuts comic strip, drawn by Charles M. Schulz (c)PNTS

La Tiranna WoO 125 for voice and piano (1799, Beethoven aged 28)

Dedication not known
Text Anon, translated William Wennington

Duration 3′

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Background and Critical Reception

This work is described by Susan Youens as a ‘song-aria’, published in London at the end of 1799. William Wennington, who appears to have been in Vienna towards the end of 1798, translated the text from English into Italian. Youens suggests Beethoven probably made his acquaintance, and ‘acceded to his request to set this dramatic lament about unrequited love.’

Youens writes of how ‘Beethoven makes the piano part froth and foam in such a way as to display his own pianism’.

Thoughts

There is quite a substantial piano introduction to this song before the high voice appears, using a more operatic profile than what we have been used to in the songs so far from Beethoven.

The writing is more descriptive, the piano more independent of the vocal line as it sets the scene. The vocal is floated, the piano flowing but adding comments of its own inbetween. in the tempestuous middle section the melody has a curious premonition of The Phantom of the Opera.

Recording used and Spotify link

John Mark Ainsley (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano)

Pamela Coburn & Leonard Hokanson

 

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1799 Salieri Falstaff o sia Le tre burle

Next up Neue Liebe, neues Leben, WoO 127

Listening to Beethoven #140 – 7 Variations on ‘Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen’ WoO 75

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beethoven-von-winter

Ludwig van Beethoven and Peter von Winter (right)

7 Variations on ‘Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen’ WoO 75 for piano (1792-99, Beethoven aged 28)

Dedication unknown
Duration 11′

written by Ben Hogwood

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What’s the theme like?

The theme, written by German contemporary Peter von Winter, is a compact tune, with quite a clipped melody – simple but ripe for development.

Background and Critical Reception

This set of seven variations on a quartet, Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen, from Peter von Winter’s opera Das unterbrochene Opferfest (The interrupted festival of sacrifice) appears to use all the four parts of the quartet as its inspiration.

Very little is written about this set, coming as it does in the middle of a rich vein of variation ‘form’ for Beethoven in the late 1790s. The general consensus is that he was enjoying himself and taking a feelw risks with harmony and form. This set would seem to confirm those notions.

Thoughts

Beethoven takes on the challenge with relish – so far very few of his variations have sounded routine. Having showcased the tune and a first variation, we get a glimpse in the second of a composer literally rolling up his sleeves as the piano surges up the scale. The next variation suggests a recent study of Handel, with pinpoint figuration and fluent movement.

A serious minor key diversion (variation no.6) is followed by an extended final variation and coda. Here Beethoven goes for a wander off the beaten track, moving unexpectedly into D major but with a surety and fluency that suggest this ‘surprise’ was well-planned all along. Sure enough the return ‘home’, with trills in the right hand, presents the theme in a subtly triumphant manner.

Recordings used and Spotify links

John Ogdon (piano) (EMI)
Cécile Ousset (piano) (Eloquence)
Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano) (BIS)

Cécile Ousset gives a typically characterful performance of these variations, with particularly enviable phrasing in the right hand of the chromatic fourth variation. John Ogdon is sparkling throughout, slightly drier in wit perhaps. Ronald Brautigam offers a vivid contrast on the fortepiano, played with plenty of fire and brimstone in the quicker music at the end of the coda.

Also written in 1799 Benjamin Carr Dead March and Monody

Next up Plaisir drainer WoO 128

Listening to Beethoven #139 – Romance no.2 in F major Op.50

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Violin from Beethonven’s possession, one of four instruments Beethoven received as a gift from Prince Karl von Lichnowsky around 1800 (image from the Beethoven-Haus Bonn)

Romance no.2 in F major Op.50 for violin and orchestra (1798, Beethoven aged 27)

Dedication unknown
Duration 7’30”

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Background and Critical Reception

After his early attempt at a concerto for violin and orchestra in 1792, Beethoven revisits the combination with two Romances – published in 1803 and 1805 as Op.40 and Op.50 respectively. The second is thought to predate the first, completed in 1798. Both Romances are thought to have been candidates for the slow movement of the early concerto, written as they are in suitable keys – but they stand alone as popular pieces.

Wolfram Steinbeck, writing for Universal’s Complete Beethoven Edition, observes that ‘Beethoven created a new genre with these two works, the violin romance, which found a number of successors in the 19th century (famous ones were composed by Berlioz, Dvořák and Bruch).’

Commentators observe that the focus is the singing tone of the violin, rather than athletic virtuosity. ‘These works by Beethoven were also to have been a stepping stone to his great Violin Concerto’, writes Steinbeck. ‘What appears there in broad strokes is tried out here on a much smaller canvas.’

Given the popularity of both Romances, there is a surprising dearth of writing from scholars of the composer.

Thoughts

The Romance no.2 is a sublime piece, and Beethoven fulfils his aims by really making the violin sing, The orchestral accompaniment is kept very much in the background but with the lovely ‘Viennese’ sound of a small orchestra.

As the piece progresses there is the opportunity for the violinist to show off, but lyricism is always the prime aim – and the tune itself is a keeper. Beethoven’s softer side is not always acknowledged, but it is to the fore throughout in this piece.

Recordings used and Spotify links

Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), New York Philharmonic Orchestra / Kurt Masur (Deutsche Grammophon)

Thomas Zehetmair (violin), Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century / Frans Brüggen

Itzhak Perlman (violin), Berliner Philharmoniker / Daniel Barenboim

Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis

The creamy tone of Anne-Sophie Mutter may be a bit calorie-rich for some tastes, but it is an undeniably beautiful way to experience the Romance, nicely accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Kurt Masur. By contrast Thomas Zehetmair uses much less vibrato, playing with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under Frans Brüggen in an account where less is most definitely more where emotion is concerned. Itzhak Perlman gives a special account with Daniel Barenboim and the Berliner Philharmoniker, while Arthur Grumiaux’s famous singing tone is ideal for these purposes.

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1798 Eybler Clarinet Concerto in B-flat major

Next up 7 Variations on ‘Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen’ WoO 75