Good Ol’ Ludwig Van

 

Evansville Symphony Orchestra.jpgIt is once again that time of year. Back to school brings with it the start of the Evansville’s 20th season with Maestro Alfred Savia conducting and their 10th in the Victory Theatre, and this looks to be a great one. Beginning September 13th and extending over the next two seasons, the EPO will perform all nine of the great Ludwig van Beethoven’s beloved Symphonies in their entirety as part of the 74th and 75th anniversary celebration of the EPO’s existence.

A massive and ambitious undertaking by any measure, this promises to be one unforgettable pair of seasons for the EPO, and a must-have ticket for any classical music enthusiast. For those unfamiliar with the man to whom Alex in A Clockwork Orange referred as “good ol’ Ludwig Van” and his nine masterful Symphonies, this is your opportunity to experience them up close and personal. But first, perhaps a few words on Beethoven himself are in order…

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in Bonn in what is now Germany on the 16th of December, 1770. Named “Ludwig” after his musician grandfather, Beethoven’s early musical training was presided over by his reputedly harsh and abusive father, Johann, and a friend of the family named Tobias Pfeiffer, who, it is said, would often stumble home drunk and force the young Ludwig awake to practice through the night. This strict practice regimen and abusive behavior by the elder Beethoven was a result of his wish to exploit the young Ludwig as a child prodigy, much the way Leopold Mozart had done with his son Wolfgang. Although Ludwig’s father falsified his age on his first promotional posters to seven-years-old even though he was nine, his wish to get rich quick on the young boy’s talents never materialized.

Either as a result, or in spite of, this harsh treatment and exploitation by his father, Ludwig’s talent grew such that in 1783, at the age of twelve, he published his first piano sonatas with the help of his teacher and mentor, organist Christian Gottlob Neefe. It was also around this time Ludwig landed his first patron in the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Maximilian Franz de Lorraine, who, incidentally, is said to have been the twenty-second Grand Master of the Priory of Sion in the controversial book Holy Blood, Holy Grail upon which the Dan Brown book The Da Vinci Code is based.

It was patrons like Maximilian and others who allowed Ludwig to travel to Vienna to seek the tutelage of Mozart. While it is unclear whether he ever actually met Mozart, Ludwig eventually came under the tutelage of that other great Classical Period composer, Joseph Haydn, instead. Many consider Haydn the father of the Symphony and String Quartet. This relationship was embittered, however, by an incident involving Ludwig’s first official “Opus” in 1795, the Trios Op. 1 in C Minor. Haydn had reportedly suggested that he add the words “pupil of Haydn” below his name to capitalize on their relationship. Beethoven, ever the proud and irascible man, took offense to this, stating that although he was technically being “taught” by Haydn, he hadn’t really learned anything from him. Despite this quibble, Beethoven and Haydn remained on good terms until Haydn’s death in 1809. Although Beethoven had a number of other teachers during his early period in Vienna – including Antonio Salieri, the purported “arch nemesis” of Mozart (a role that is probably historically unfair) – Haydn’s influence on Beethoven’s sense of melody in his early compositions is impossible to overlook.

Scholars commonly divide Beethoven’s career into three periods – the early (Classical), middle (Heroic), and late (Romantic) periods. This seems to be as much a matter of narrative convenience as it is a delineation of his progression as a composer. For example, one can clearly hear echoes of the Choral Fantasia in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra Op. 80 (1808) in the final movement of the Ninth Symphony Op. 125 (1824), suggesting this type of useful delineation nonetheless an imperfect crutch.

His first two symphonies are commonly placed within the first period and closely hearken back to the Classical works of Haydn and Mozart, while the next six symphonies, Symphonies 3-8, marked by the onset of deafness possibly caused by lead poisoning or syphilis, represent a progressive, more adventurous departure from those composers’ works. His Ninth and final Symphony, considered by some to be the greatest achievement in western music and one of the highest achievements of mankind, was written after the composer had gone totally deaf.

Comparing his scant nine symphonies to the 41 written by Mozart or the 108 by Haydn can lend the false impression that Beethoven’s genius was not as profound or prolific as his great contemporaries, but most fans and scholars of classical music in general agree that what Beethoven’s works lack in number they make up for in caliber. The power and scope of his 138 catalogued works is beyond reproach and his Symphonies have each withstood the ravages of time and taste, standing as some of the greatest artistic accomplishments in history.

I would like to personally extend my congratulations and thanks to the EPO for performing them all in this way. It will be a pleasure to experience them live. My season tickets are already reserved.

 

Details on the Upcoming 2008-2009 Season:

In addition to Beethoven Symphonies No. 7, 8, 2, 1, and 6, in that order, the EPO will round out their 2008-2009 7-Concert Classic Series with selections from Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Berlioz, and Brahms, Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” Mozart, Prokofiev, and more. Guest soloists gracing the Victory stage will include pianist Alexander Toradze on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 September 13th and Chilean guitarist Carlos Perez on Rodrigo’s lively Concierto para una Fiesta October 25th. The 4-concert Pops Series will feature performances of “Hot Latin Jazz” by Paquito d’Rivera and his Jazz Quintet, a Christmas performance by the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, a Celebration of Rodgers & Hammerstein with the lovely and renowned soprano Melissa Errico, and a Rich Ridenour of George Gershwin’s seminal “Rhapsody in Blue.” Get tickets, check pricing, or request a season brochure by logging on to www.evansvillephilharmonic.org, or by calling (812) 425-5050. This might be your last chance to hear all of Beethoven’s Symphonies performed live within 1000 miles of here.


PHOTO CREDIT | Joseph Karl Stieler