Russell / Classics Delphi Masterworks of Ludwig van Beethoven (Illustrated)

1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78656-121-3
Verlag: Delphi Classics Ltd
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 2, 2945 Seiten

Reihe: Delphi Great Composers

Widely regarded as the greatest composer that ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven was the principal musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. Dominating a period of musical history as no other composer before or since, Beethoven produced monumental works that combine a forceful intensity of feeling with a perfection of design. Delphi's Great Composers Series offers concise illustrated guides to the life and works of our greatest composers. Analysing the masterworks of each composer, these interactive eBooks include links to popular streaming services, allowing you to listen to the pieces of music you are reading about. Evaluating the masterworks of each composer, you will explore the development of their works, tracing how they changed the course of music history. Whether a classical novice or a cultivated connoisseur, this series offers an intriguing overview of the world's most famous and iconic compositions. This volume presents Beethoven's masterworks in succinct detail, with informative introductions, accompanying illustrations and the usual Delphi bonus features. (Version 1)
* Concise and informative overview of Beethoven's masterworks
* Learn about the classical pieces that made Beethoven a celebrated composer
* Links to popular streaming services (free and paid), allowing you to listen to the masterpieces you are reading about
* Features a special 'Complete Compositions' section, with an index of Beethoven's complete works and links to popular streaming services
* Includes Beethoven's letters (translated by Lady Wallace) - spend hours exploring the composer's personal correspondence
* Also features four biographies, including Thayer's seminal study - explore Beethoven's intriguing musical and personal life
Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting eBooks
CONTENTS:
The Masterworks
Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II
Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Sonata No. 8, Pathétique
Symphony No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 14, Moonlight Sonata
Violin Sonata No. 9, Kreutzer Sonata
Symphony No. 3, Eroica
Fidelio
Violin Concerto in D major
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
Egmont
Bagatelle No. 25, Für Elise
Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor Concerto
Piano Trio No. 7, Archduke
Symphony No. 7
Missa solemnis
Symphony No. 9
String Quartet No. 14
Complete Compositions
Index of Beethoven's Compositions
The Letters
Beethoven's Letters (1790-1826)
The Biographies
Life of Beethoven by Anton Schindler
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven by Alexander Wheelock Thayer
Beethoven: A Memoir by Elliott Graeme
Brief Biography: Ludwig van Beethoven by Donald Francis Tovey
Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of exciting titles

Autoren/Hrsg.

Russell, Peter

Classics, Delphi

Leseproben

Symphony No. 9
AMAZON   APPLE   GOOGLE   SPOTIFY   YOUTUBE   SCORES Regarded by many as the greatest exponent of its form, Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, is remarkable for its grandness of scale and its innovative final movement, which includes a full chorus and vocal soloists singing a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem “An die Freude” (Ode to Joy). Schiller’s poem was published in 1785 and it is likely that Beethoven made his first of multiple attempts to set the verse to music in the early 1790’s. He revisited the poem in 1808 and 1811, as his notebooks include numerous remarks regarding possible settings. By 1812 he had decided to make the pioneering move to place his setting of Ode to Joy within a grand symphony. The Philharmonic Society of London had originally commissioned the symphony in 1817, though it was not until the autumn of 1822 that Beethoven began work in earnest, with the autograph being completed in February 1824. The symphony emerged from other pieces by Beethoven, which though completed works in their own right, in one sense serve as sketches for Symphony No. 9. For example, the Choral Fantasy Op. 80 (1808) introduces a choir and vocal soloists near the end for the climax. The vocal forces sing a theme first played instrumentally, which is reminiscent of the corresponding theme in Symphony No. 9. Although the majority of his works had been premiered in Vienna, Beethoven was keen to have the piece performed in Berlin, as he thought that musical taste in Vienna had become dominated by Italian composers such as Rossini. When his friends and financiers heard this, they urged him to premiere the symphony in Vienna, gathering a petition signed by a number of prominent Viennese music patrons and performers. Beethoven was flattered and so gave in, as Symphony No. 9 was premiered on 7 May 1824 in the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna, along with the overture The Consecration of the House and three parts of the Missa solemnis. This was in fact the composer’s first onstage appearance in twelve years and so the hall was crammed with an eager audience, not to mention the monumental number of performers required for the symphony. Symphony No. 9 demanded the largest orchestra ever assembled by the composer, calling in the combined efforts of the Kärntnertor house orchestra, the Vienna Music Society and even a select group of capable amateurs. The soprano and alto parts were sung by two famous young singers: Caroline Unger and Henriette Sontag. The latter was eighteen years old when Beethoven personally recruited her to perform in the premiere. Although the performance was officially directed by Michael Umlauf, the theatre’s Kapellmeister, Beethoven shared the stage with him. However, two years earlier, Umlauf had witnessed the composer’s conducting of a dress rehearsal of Fidelio end in disaster. Therefore, Umlauf secretly instructed the singers and musicians to ignore the now almost totally deaf Beethoven. At the beginning of every part, Beethoven, who sat by the stage, gave the tempos. He was turning the pages of his score and beating time for an orchestra he could not hear. The violinist Joseph Böhm recalled: “Beethoven directed the piece himself; that is, he stood before the lectern and gesticulated furiously. At times he rose, at other times he shrank to the ground, he moved as if he wanted to play all the instruments himself and sing for the whole chorus. All the musicians minded his rhythm alone while playing”. Today, a number of famous anecdotes survive regarding the premiere of Symphony No. 9, but none are as memorable as what occurred at the end of the performance. As Beethoven was several measures off and still conducting, the contralto Caroline Unger had to walk over and turn the composer around to accept the audience’s resounding applause. According to a witness, “the public received the musical hero with the utmost respect and sympathy, listened to his wonderful, gigantic creations with the most absorbed attention, and broke out in jubilant applause, often during sections, and repeatedly at the end of them.” Beethoven received standing ovations five times; there were handkerchiefs in the air, hats and raised hands. Though Beethoven was entirely unable to hear their wild applause, he could certainly see their unbridled ovations. The symphony is scored for: Violins I, II Violas Cellos Double basses Piccolo (fourth movement only) 2 Flutes 2 Oboes 2 Clarinets in A, B-flat and C 2 Bassoons Contrabassoon (fourth movement only) 2 Horns (1 and 2) in D and B-flat 2 Horns (3 and 4) in B-flat (bass), B-flat and E-flat 2 Trumpets in D and B-flat 3 Trombones (alto, tenor, and bass; second and fourth movements only) Timpani Bass drum (fourth movement only) Triangle (fourth movement only) Cymbals (fourth movement only) Voices: Soprano solo Alto solo Tenor solo Baritone solo SATB Choir (Tenor briefly divides) Symphony No. 9 is divided into four movements: Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso (D minor) Scherzo: Molto vivace – Presto (D minor) Adagio molto e cantabile – Andante moderato – Tempo primo – Andante moderato – Adagio – Lo stesso tempo (B-flat major) Recitative: (D minor-D major) (Presto – Allegro ma non troppo – Vivace – Adagio cantabile – Allegro assai – Presto: O Freunde) – Allegro molto assai: Freude, schöner Götterfunken – Alla marcia – Allegro assai vivace: Froh, wie seine Sonnen – Andante maestoso: Seid umschlungen, Millionen! – Adagio ma non troppo, ma divoto: Ihr, stürzt nieder – Allegro energico, sempre ben marcato: (Freude, schöner Götterfunken – Seid umschlungen, Millionen!) – Allegro ma non tanto: Freude, Tochter aus Elysium! – Prestissimo, Maestoso, Molto prestissimo: Seid umschlungen, Millionen! The first movement was written in sonata form, without an exposition repeat. The opening theme, played pianissimo over string tremolos, famously resembles the sound of an orchestra tuning at the beginning of a concert. From this uncertain “limbo”, there emerges a theme of power and clarity that will drive the entire piece. On the movement’s conclusion, the coda employs the chromatic fourth. Symphony No. 9 is unconventional in placing the usual fast-moving playful scherzo movement before the slow movement. Therefore, the second movement has the Italian performance instructions “Molto vivace – Presto” (very lively – very fast). Composed in D minor, the introduction bears a momentary resemblance to the opening theme of the first movement. This scherzo section has an elaborate internal structure in a complete sonata form. The first group of the exposition opens with a fugue before modulating to the key of C major for the second part. The recapitulation further develops the exposition’s themes, featuring timpani solos. A new development section leads to the repeat of the recapitulation and the movement concludes with a brief codetta. Lyrical and slow in B-flat major, the following movement is notable for its loose variation form, featuring two variations that progressively develop the rhythm and melodic ideas. The final variation is twice interrupted by episodes in which loud fanfares from the full orchestra are answered by octaves by the first violins. A French horn solo also makes a prominent appearance in the movement. The famous choral finale was devised as the composer’s musical representation of universal brotherhood; the movement has been noted for its dual aspect, offering a symphony within a symphony, though played without interruption. The ‘inner symphony’ follows the same overall pattern as the symphony as a whole and can be divided thus: First part: theme and variations with slow introduction. The main theme appears in the cellos and basses, which will be later represented with voices. Second part: 6/8 scherzo in military style in the “Turkish style”, concluding with a 6/8 variation of the main theme with chorus. Third part: slow meditation offering a new theme on the text “Seid umschlungen, Millionen!” Fourth part: fugato finale on the themes of the first and third parts The text for the final movement is largely taken from Schiller’s Ode to Joy, introduced with a few additional words written by Beethoven. Below is...