Beethoven: Symphonies and Overtures

Beethoven's symphonies: the rediscovered frontier

Advantages: A new way to hear Beethoven
Disadvantages: Surpassed by some later period cycles

INTRODUCTION Beethoven's nine symphonies cover one of the major cornerstones of symphonic literature along with the likes of Haydn, Brahms and Sibelius. Beethoven was born in turbulent times when the common people's dissatisfaction toward the ruling monarchs in Europe was reaching new heights which finally culminated in the French Revolution in 1789. Against this came Beethoven, who was born into a family of musicians in Bonn in 1770. His father wanted to coin in on the child prodigy market created by Mozart whose father had exploited his genius in a similar way. But Beethoven was no Mozart. He wasn't born a child progidy and his performing skills were nowhere near as natural as they were with Mozart. Still he made rapid progress as a piano virtuoso and an amateur composer. He was even supposed to take some lessons with Mozart in Wien ...

berlioz 16.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Beethoven Symphonies 1-9 (London Classical Players) - Sir Roger Norrington

Choral Symphony

Advantages: Choral Symphony
Disadvantages: Nothing

On the first time, The Nineth Symphony of Beethoven is kwoning like "Choral Symphony" because in the foursth and the last movement it is singing by a Tenor, Baritone, Soprano and Messo Soprano Voices with a Choral Voices that they are singing in another way the "joy song". This symphony (the last one) of Beethoven was released the May 7th of 1821 when he was a deaf person, so he never could listen his composition years at 3 or 4 years after Beethoven died. So it was his last composition, been for me the best compousers. In the first movement of this Symphony "Allegro ma non troppo" begining with the introduction of wind instrument like oboe and the violas and violin continues the music and then continues with this music specially the wind instrument with a hard musical notes that it is characteristic of this 15 minutes music. In ...

daniel_guibu 11.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Beethoven: Symphony No 9; Coriolan Overture

Sinfonia Eroica

Advantages: A work that changed the way we look at symphonies
Disadvantages: none whatsoever

contemplated suicide, so emotionally expressed in the so-called "Heiligenstadt Testament" in 1802. But Beethoven lived on and, because of the isolation he felt due to his condition and his natural impulsiveness, he managed to evolve in a completely original way. His Second Symphony written at that time already shows his fiery temper in its early form. As the First Symphony was still firmly rooted in the accepted Classical mold of Haydn, the Second caused wondering and even fear among the people that first heard it (one critic compared it to a dragon that refuses to die). With this in mind, one really can only wonder at what Beethoven's next symphony must have felt like for the audiences of the time (after all that kind of a sensation can hardly be expected of us today). Beethoven had for some time been interested in Napoleon, whom he saw as ...

berlioz 09.10.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Egmont Overture