Search Results for: beethoven
Beethoven and Confucius
Beethoven has long been considered a cultural hero in the West, but to become such a figure in China his persona had to be made to fit into Chinese cultural categories. The Chinese transformation of Beethoven’s character—first into that of … Continue reading
Filed under Classic era, Curiosities, Reception
Beethoven’s coffee
A visitor to the 39-year-old composer’s Vienna apartment described Beethoven’s personal habits in notoriously disparaging detail—a picture curiously contrasting with the same reporter’s observations of his fastidious attention to his favorite beverage. “For breakfast he had coffee, which he usually … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era, Curiosities, Food, Humor
Beethoven and King Max
Beethoven was known for his unwillingness to show subservience to the aristocracy, but sometimes others might do it for him, as when his friend and occasional librettist Aloys Weißenbach tried— without the composer’s knowledge and without success—to wangle him an … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era
Schenker on Beethoven
Beethoven’s last piano sonatas: An edition with elucidation (Oxford University Press, 2015) is the first English-language edition and translation of Heinrich Schenker’s landmark editions of Beethoven’s opp. 109, 110, 111, and 101 (Wien: Universal Edition, 1913). Each of the four … Continue reading
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Filed under Analysis, Classic era, New editions
Beethoven at the table
Beethoven’s conversation books indicate that he particularly liked pasta with parmesan cheese and salami. He also liked veal, beef, liver, chicken, oysters, fish, spinach, fruit, cream, sugar, soup, eggs, very strong coffee and, last but not least, wine. He didn’t … Continue reading
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Filed under Food
Beethoven does the details
The increasing range of Beethoven’s performance indications paralleled the growing depth of expression in his music. While his predecessors had been content with four basic tempos—adagio, andante, allegro, and presto—he began to add qualifiers, indications of gradual tempo change, and … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era, Performance practice
Beethoven’s traffic accident
On 15 February 1819 the leading Dutch newspaper Nederlandse staatscourant reported that Beethoven had been seriously wounded when he was run over by a carriage. The notice, a translation of a French report issued the day before, used strong language … Continue reading
Filed under Classic era
Beethoven’s missing trunks
After Beethoven’s biographer and sometime secretary Anton Schindler (inset) was exposed as having forged certain entries in the composer’s conversation books, scholarly suspicions were raised regarding all of Schindler’s activities—not least, he was blamed for the 22-month gap in his … Continue reading
Filed under Classic era, Curiosities
Beethoven-Haus
Beethoven-Haus in Bonn is one of RILM’s newest subscribers. Besides maintaining a museum in the house where the composer was born and keeping up with writings about him and his works, the organization offers an online digital archive where visitors … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era, Resources
A famous gondola song
La biondina in gondoletta is likely the most famous gondola song in Europe. The music had long been attributed to the German-born composer Johann Simon Mayr, whose authorship, however, can be ruled out. Until now, the composer of the tune … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era, Europe, Popular music
