Tag Archives: Ludwig van Beethoven

Listening to Beethoven #91 – 12 variations on a Menuett à la Vìganò

Posted on by
Reply


The young Ludwig van Beethoven (left) and Maria Sophia Weber, wife of the composer Jakob Haibel, for whom no picture could be found

12 variations on a Menuett à la Vìganò WoO 68 for piano (1795, Beethoven aged 24)

Dedication not known
Duration 12′

Listen

What’s the theme like?

Despite being called a Menuett, and having a triple time lilt, the theme actually has four beats in the bar. This creates a bit of tension but some intriguing cross rhythms too.

Background and Critical Reception

It has been a little while since we heard from Beethoven in the ‘Variations’ discipline, for piano at least. He had certainly not forsaken the form, however, this set being one of at least four he completed in 1795. The theme is from a Menuet from the successful ballet Le nozze disturbate, written by Jakob Haibel (1762-1826) in the same year. Haibel was an Austrian composer, tenor and choirmaster.

Jean-Charles Hoffelé, writing in the booklet note for Cécile Ousset’s superb Decca recordings of variations by Beethoven, gives out plenty of compliments. For him, the variations ‘apply a piquant inventiveness to this dance, popularised at Vienna’s Theater auf der Wieden, beyond the city’s fortifications. Beethoven transforms the ternary rhythm of the dance into an astonishing scherzo’.

Thoughts

Another terrifically entertaining set of Beethoven variations. The first variation is like a peal of bells, then a flurry of right hand activity takes us into a thrilling second variation, Beethoven really pressing down on the accelerator. The tempo choices vary wildly as we progress, moving through a solemn but quite stilted minor key variation (no.4) and a brisk march (no.5).

The eighth variation has an attractive lilt, but no.9 could hardly be more different as it hits some really gruff, bass heavy chords that feel like pure Beethoven – and which are further emphasised by the pause written by the composer to make them last longer.

Sparkling interplay between the hands characterises variation no.10, before the twelfth and final variation plays out between two very different voices, one serene and the other impatient. The coda settles to a quiet and rather moving conclusion

Recordings used and Spotify links

Cécile Ousset (Eloquence)

Rudolf Buchbinder (Warner Classics)

Mikhail Pletnev (Deutsche Grammophon)

All three of these recordings are excellent, but Ousset just has the extra magical touch, the listener hanging on every note of her 1975 Decca recording.

Also written in 1795 Hummel Piano Sonata no.8

Next up 9 Variations on ‘Quant’e piu bello’

Listening to Beethoven #90 – 12 German Dances (piano version)

Posted on by
Reply

Masked Ball in the Großen Redouten-saal, Hofburg (by Markus Weinmann, 1748)

12 German Dances, WoO 8 for piano (1795, Beethoven aged 24)

no.1 in C major
no.2 in A major
no.3 in F major
no.4 in B flat major
no.5 in E flat major
no.6 in G major
no.7 in G major
no.8 in C major
no.9 in A major
no.10 in F major
no.11 in G major
no.12 and Coda in C major

Dedication Vienna Artists’ Pension Society
Duration 20′

Listen

Background and Critical Reception

This is the piano version of the German Dances Beethoven wrote for the Redoutensaal ball of November 1795 in Vienna.

Thoughts

The dances work really well for piano, ad while they may not be as colourful as the orchestral version the keyboard brings out the crisp nature of the composer’s dance rhythms.

Recordings used and Spotify links

Jenő Jandó (Naxos)

Jandó plays with a nice lilt to the rhythms, showing how the dances are clearly for communal use. Having one follow the other so immediately works well in an energetic account. The final dance tails off rather movingly at the end.

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 1795 Gyrowetz – Three Flute Quartets Op.11

Next up 12 Variations on ‘Menuet a la Vigano’ WoO 68

Listening to Beethoven #89 – La Partenza WoO 124

Posted on by
Reply


Portrait of Italian poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782) Image used courtesy of Wikipedia

La partenza WoO 124 for voice and piano (1795, Beethoven aged 24)

Dedication not known
Text Pietro Metastasio
Duration 1’10”

Listen

Background and Critical Reception

Beethoven joined a prestigious list of composers in setting Pietro Metastasio’s canzonetta from 1749. Paisiello and Mozart had already taken the text as inspiration, but now Beethoven – setting Italian again – took the plunge. This would appear to be a result of his continuing training with Salieri, who was encouraging the setting of songs in his native language.

Thoughts

Beethoven shifts from the G major of previous song Zärtliche Liebe to A flat major, a tonal centre that would inspire some of his best and most contemplative music over the years. It is a shift in mood, too – the previous song a declaration of love, this one (translating as The Departure) sat in the cloud of departure and loss.

It is a relatively simple setting, and a short one too at just over a minute. A flowing piano is the bedrock for a smooth, mid-range melody, but the overriding mood is sombre and relatively downcast.

Recordings used and Spotify links

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hartmut Höll (Warner Classics)

Hermann Prey, Leonard Hokanson (Capriccio)

Cecilia Bartoli, Andras Schiff (Decca)

Both Fischer-Dieskau and Prey give this song a good deal of gravitas, their pianists providing solid support. However the bright tones of Cecilia Bartoli and the light-fingered accompaniment of András Schiff give the song a new lease of life.

Also written in 1795 Salieri “Armonia per un tempio della notte” in E flat major for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns

Next up 12 German Dances WoO8 (piano version)

Listening to Beethoven #88 – Zärtliche Liebe WoO 123

Posted on by
Reply


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

Zärtliche Liebe WoO 123 for voice and piano (1795, Beethoven aged 24)

Dedication not known
Text Karl Friedrich Herrosee
Duration 2’20”

Listen

Background and Critical Reception

The seemingly uncredited booklet-writer for Beethoven’s complete songs as released on the Capriccio label is unequivocal in their praise for this song for higher voice and piano. They describe it in the company of two others as “masterpieces in the restrained use of musical means, a particular feature applicable to more than merely a few of Beethoven’s songs for voice and piano. This characteristic is not easily incorporated in the prevalent image of Beethoven, but it is nonetheless indispensable if the full scope of Beethoven’s art is to be appreciated.”

Leslie Orrey, writing in The Beethoven Companion, sits firmly on the other side of the fence. “There could hardly be…a much less ardent protestation of love than Ich liebe dich…” which he describes with a number of other songs as “looking over their shoulders to another age, to the artificial Arcadian poetry of nymphs and shepherdesses”.

Thoughts

Less is indeed more where this song is concerned. The singer has the first note, an upbeat to a graceful song that proceeds smoothly and largely without incident. There is room to accommodate both the views above, though my thoughts fall with the ‘restraint saying more’ than the Orrey view that Beethoven’s version of love is completely removed.

The gently undulating piano as the singer grows more ardent helps the restrained approach, but does enhance the emphasis on the words and stepwise melody.

Recordings used and Spotify links

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jörg Demus (Warner Classics)

Ian Bostridge, Julius Drake (Warner Classics)

Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen (Deutsche Grammophon)

Fritz Wunderlich is the tenderest of the three male singers chosen here, his smooth line beautifully phrased. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings down a tone and with characteristic strength of feeling. Ian Bostridge has a leaner tone but shapes the phrasing affectionately. All three are convincing advocates of a song dividing opinion.

Also written in 1795 Salieri Palmira

Next up La Partenza (Der Abschied)

Listening to Beethoven #87 – 12 Minuets

Posted on by
Reply

Court banquet in the Redoutensaal on the occasion of the marriage of Joseph II and Isabella of Bourbon-Parma by Martin van Meytens

12 Minuets, WoO 7 for orchestra (1795, Beethoven aged 24

no.1 in D major
no.2 in B flat major
no.3 in G major
no.4 in E flat major
no.5 in C major
no.6 in A major
no.7 in D major
no.8 in B flat major
no.9 in G major
no.10 in E flat major
no.11 in C major
no.12 in F major

Dedication Vienna Artists’ Pension Society
Duration 25′

Listen

Background and Critical Reception

These dances are companions to the 12 German Dances WoO 8, and were written for the masked ball in the Large Redoutensaal, Vienna, on 22 November 1795. It is thought Beethoven had Haydn‘s sponsorship for this event – his teacher had composed for the event three years earlier, a charitable donation. It is also thought Haydn would have attended the 1795 ball.

The minuets last around 2 minutes each, and as with Beethoven’s previous dances they are easy on the ear and light on the feet – despite being composed for a relatively large orchestra, with trumpets and timpani. Daniel Heartz, in a characteristically detailed appraisal of the dances, finds them to be longer than Haydn’s examples, and notes how their choices of key tend to be a third apart.

Thoughts

There is nothing too daring here given the function they were written for, but at the same time there is an embarrassment of good tunes and danceable beats for the guests.

The third minuet, in G major, is especially lively, and has some lovely in its middle section with a pair of horns. The fourth, in E flat major, has a beefy main them which contrasts with the delightful clarinet solo in its middle section. After a while there is a danger that all the different minuets will feel like one long dance, but Beethoven varies the scoring and melodic material enough to avoid that.

Minuet no.9 is brightly scored for the wind, while no.10, returning to E flat major, is like many of these pieces still in thrall to Haydn. The last, as is Beethoven’s wont, features the shrill piccolo in its middle section, the middle of a regal F major sandwich.

Recordings used and Spotify links

The playlist below includes recordings from Philharmonia Hungarica / Hans Ludwig Hirsch (Warner Classics), the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Thomas Dausgaard on Simax and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields under Sir Neville Marriner (Philips)

Thomas Dausgaard’s crisp versions are once again a lot of fun, if a touch aggressive at times – the dancers might have a couple of bruised feet afterwards! Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields are typically stylish and colourful. Once again the Philharmonia Hungarica and Hans Ludwig Hirsch are more relaxed in their steps.

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 1795 Pleyel – Keyboard Trio in D major B461

Next up Zärtliche Liebe WoO123