Immortal Beethoven

Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 5pm

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This performance will include a 15-minute intermission.

Dennis Kim: Violin
Jennifer Kloetzel: Cello
Sean Kennard: Piano

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13, “Pathétique”

I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio

Sean Kennard, piano

Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, “Spring”

I. Allegro

II. Adagio molto espressivo

III. Scherzo: Allegro molto

IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

Dennis Kim, violin, Sean Kennard, piano

-INTERMISSION-

Piano Trio No. 1 in D Major, Op. 70, “Ghost”

I. Allegro vivace e con brio

II. Largo assai ed espressivo

III. Presto

Dennis Kim, violin, Jennifer Kloetzel, cello, Sean Kennard, piano

When most people think of Ludwig van Beethoven, they think of his defiant 5th symphony, his battle with deafness, his triumphant 9th symphony with its uplifting Ode to Joy, and perhaps his evocative and mysterious "Moonlight" sonata (or the charming "Fur Elise"). These touchstones are important, and give us good information, but they are only the tip of the iceberg. The broadest strokes of Beethoven's biography are worth reviewing to put the music on today's program in a context.

Born in Bonn, Germany in 1770, Beethoven had a difficult childhood--his domineering and ambitious father pushed Beethoven's musical development at the expense of the young man's well-being. Beethoven first became known as a virtuoso pianist, more so than as a composer, and in his 20s he moved to Vienna, Austria, a sort of musical capital of Europe at the time (and previously home to Mozart). Beethoven enjoyed considerable aristocratic patronage and success as a pianist in the 1790s, often improvising or playing his own compositions. Symptoms of emerging deafness became increasingly clear by 1802, when he penned a famous letter to his brothers considering the idea of suicide. But he chose defiance of his fate: from now on, he would live for his art (i.e. his composing). He gradually performed less and less and composed more and more, hearing his creations primarily in his head.

The existential crisis of 1802 serves as an important dividing line in Beethoven's life. Before this, piano virtuosity was just as important as his composing and his original works betrayed the influence of Mozart and Haydn. After 1802 (most dramatically apparent in the "Eroica" symphony begun in 1803) Beethoven entered what scholars call his "heroic" period, in which his compositions reflect a new and radical boldness of conception, often containing triumphant overtones. Perhaps the composer found joy in moving past the curse of his deafness--even in the very act of creation itself as well as in his ever-present love of nature. The Piano Sonata, Op. 13, in C Minor ("Pathetique") of 1798-99, along with the Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 24, in F Major ("Spring") of 1800, belong to the earlier period of Beethoven's creative life, and the Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 1, in D Major ("Ghost") of 1808, belongs to the latter.

When we hear the two earlier pieces, it's tempting to imagine the young piano virtuoso dazzling and charming his patrons and audiences (Beethoven's playing was known to evoke strong emotions in its listeners, a fact, however, Beethoven publicly ridiculed!). The composer's characteristic temper was already present, for example, in the "Pathetique" Sonata's dramatic opening movement, and so was his rough, jesting sense of humor, as in the little wisp of a scherzo which forms the third movement of the "Spring" Sonata. (At one point, the violin is written so as to sound as if it's playing on the wrong beat when compared with the piano!). But also present in both pieces is an almost constant melodiousness: most obviously, we find the gorgeous tunes that begin the outer movements and slow "Adagio" of the “Spring” sonata, but even in the "Pathetique," the fast, driving body of the first movement presents a clearly identifiable and fully fleshed-out melodic idea.

When we hear the "Ghost" trio, however, we're in a different world. Beethoven no longer seems overly concerned with conventional melodies which will appeal to and charm his audiences. In their place we find fragmentation: short bits of several notes that act as musical "lego blocks" with which the master constructs longer narratives (the easiest place to find this procedure in Beethoven's ouvre is in the famous first movement of his 5th Symphony, with it's 4-note motif). Every effort is made to shake off the influence of Mozart here: a fully original, personal voice is unmistakable. The music is elemental in its power, at times eccentric, and more concerned with striving after something profound and original than merely charming a roomful of wealthy patrons. Fragmentation is not an ever-present characteristic of the heroic period, however: Beethoven's more "public" pieces of the time, such as his "Pastoral" 6th Symphony, as well as the "Emperor" Piano Concerto, do use longer, more melodious ideas. The listener is more likely to find Beethoven taking creative risks in his chamber and solo works than in his orchestral ones.

But things are never so simple: there are abundant areas of overlap even across these two distinct periods of Beethoven's work. Listen for the gradual emergence of trills (relatively fast, oscillating notes--quick vibrations of sound) toward the end of the "Adagio" of Op. 24. It's not much of a stretch to hear the connection between these and the low, rumbling vibrations of similar speed in the piano part of the slow middle movement of Op. 70, No. 1. The former, in a relatively high range, sound like bird song; the latter, in a mostly low range, take on a creepy countenance (indeed, they are the reason the piece is called the "Ghost"!). Strangely, there is even a resemblance between the main melodic ideas in these two slow movements, despite the continuous vs. fragmentary treatments: the latter sounds like a disassembling of the former. In some ways, another work from the composer's earlier period, the piano sonata Op. 10, No. 3 in D Major [1798], seems to have provided a sort of prototype for the "Ghost" Trio—Beethoven often experimented first in his piano sonatas and only later in other works.

Beethoven's support system evolved over the years, but one near-constant was the staunch patronage of Prince Karl Lichnowsky. From his earliest days in Vienna, the prince supported him, and even provided him lodging and eventually an annual salary that allowed Beethoven to take on more ambitious projects. With various ups and downs, Lichnowsky's support for Beethoven continued until the prince's death in 1814. The 1799 "Pathetique" Sonata is dedicated to him. And nearly a decade later, in 1808, when Beethoven wrote the "Ghost" Trio for his friend and landlord, the Countess Marie von Erdody, it was Prince Lichnowsky who lived upstairs in the same building! Undoubtedly, both individuals were present when Beethoven first performed the trio at a concert within those very same walls.

-Program Notes by Sheridan Seyfried 

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