Author: Harvey Sachs Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks ISBN: 0812969073 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 242
Book Description
The premier of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna on May 7, 1824, was the most significant artistic event of the year—and the work remains one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music. Described in vibrant detail by eminent musicologist Harvey Sachs, this symbol of freedom and joy was so unorthodox that it amazed and confused listeners at its unveiling—yet it became a standard for subsequent generations of creative artists, and its composer came to embody the Romantic cult of genius. In this unconventional, provocative book, Beethoven’s masterwork becomes a prism through which we may view the politics, aesthetics, and overall climate of the era. Part biography, part history, part memoir, The Ninth brilliantly explores the intricacies of Beethoven’s last symphony—how it brought forth the power of the individual while celebrating the collective spirit of humanity.
Author: David Benjamin Levy Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 9780300099645 Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 262
Book Description
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a masterpiece that has influenced virtually every Western composer since its premiere, has become associated with the marking of momentous public occasions. In 1989, Chinese students played its finale through loudspeakers in Tiananmen Square, and Leonard Bernstein led a performance in Berlin to celebrate the razing of the Berlin Wall. This lively and up-to-date book focuses on Beethoven's Ninth, exploring the cultural and musical meanings that surround this powerful work of genius. David B. Levy sets the scene with a brief survey of nineteenth-century Germanic culture and society, then analyzes the Ninth symphony in detail with special emphasis on the famous choral finale. He discusses the initial performances in 1824 under Beethoven's direction and traces the symphony's critical reception and legacy. In the final chapter of the book, Levy examines interpretations of the work by prominent conductors, including Wagner, Mahler, and Weingartner. A fully annotated discography of selected recordings completes this comprehensive volume.
Author: Esteban Buch Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 9780226078243 Category : Music Languages : en Pages : 348
Book Description
Who hasn't been stirred by the strains of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? That's a good question, claims Esteban Buch. German nationalists and French republicans, communists and Catholics have all, in the course of history, embraced the piece. It was performed under the direction of Leonard Bernstein at a concert to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall, yet it also serves as a ghastly and ironic leitmotif in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Hitler celebrated his birthdays with it, and the government of Rhodesia made it their anthem. And played in German concentration camps by the imprisoned, it also figured prominently at Mitterand's 1981 investiture. In his remarkable history of one of the most popular symphonic works of the modern period, Buch traces such complex and contradictory uses—and abuses—of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony since its premier in 1824. Buch shows that Beethoven consciously drew on the tradition of European political music, with its mix of sacred and profane, military and religious themes, when he composed his symphony. But while Beethoven obviously had his own political aspirations for the piece—he wanted it to make a statement about ideal power—he could not have had any idea of the antithetical political uses, nationalist and universalist, to which the Ninth Symphony has been put since its creation. Buch shows us how the symphony has been "deployed" throughout nearly two centuries, and in the course of this exploration offers what was described by one French reviewer as "a fundamental examination of the moral value of art." Sensitive and fascinating, this account of the tangled political existence of a symphony is a rare book that shows the life of an artwork through time, shifted and realigned with the currents of history.
Author: Hector Berlioz Publisher: University of Illinois Press ISBN: 9780252069420 Category : Music Languages : en Pages : 198
Book Description
A daring composer in his own right, Hector Berlioz made a considerable reputation and a modest living for himself writing about music. This compact volume gathers brief, pithy essays Berlioz wrote on Beethoven's nine symphonies, his opera, Fidelio, and his piano sonatas and trios. Berlioz vividly depicts the salient features of the music with observations that are acute and passionate, as valuable for musicians as for amateurs. Beyond its astute commentary on the music, however, Berlioz's book offers a rare firsthand look at the reception and reputation accorded Beethoven's music in the decades following his death. Berlioz transcribes the comments of amateurs leaving the conservatoire after a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and provides a mocking glimpse of the French appreciation of the great German composer: What stands in the way of the music of 'Fidelio' as regards the Parisian public is ... the great disdain of the composer for sonorous effects which are not justified. He addresses Beethoven's skillful use of the orchestra as an instrument of drama and the general disapprobation that greeted this approach. He also includes a satirical piece on the fad of calling up the spirit of a composer and transcribing new, posthumous compositions. Berlioz's essays testify to the tumult caused by Beethoven's music in his time and offer ways to approach the music that remain enlightening and fresh.
Author: Alexander Rehding Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0190299703 Category : Music Languages : en Pages : 177
Book Description
When a professional states, "Your child has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)," it is enough to make your whole world fall apart. What does it mean to be on the autism spectrum? How will this affect your child's life, your life, the life of your family, and others you interact with? What sorts of medications, therapies, and alternative methods are used to help manage the disorder? What are the financial and legal ramifications? How will this affect schooling, your spiritual growth, and everyday life? These are just a few of the questions that will rapidly cross your mind. Caring for Autism: Practical Advice from a Parent and Physician delves into all these questions and more. As the father of a daughter with ASD and as a trained psychiatrist who specializes in ASD, Dr. Michael A. Ellis provides a holistic view of what comes after diagnosis. In user-friendly tones, he answers the most commonly asked questions about what it's actually like to live with ASD, what medications and therapies are available, and the global impact it has on the child's environment. With the help of his wife, Lori Layton Ellis, to provide a mother's perspective, Dr. Ellis shares personal stories of their 10-year journey in order to provide insight and support for anyone - patient, parent, caregiver - traversing the difficulties of autism.
Author: Christopher Alan Reynolds Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520285565 Category : Music Languages : en Pages : 226
Book Description
"Reynolds shows that the stylistic advances made by Richard Wagner and Robert Schumann in 1845-46 stemmed from a deepened understanding of Beethoven's techniques and strategies in the Ninth Symphony, particularly the use of counterpoint involving contrary motion. The trail of influences that Reynolds explores extends back to the music of Bach and ahead to Tristan and Isolde, as well as to Brahms's First Symphony."--Provided by publisher.
Author: Christopher Alan Reynolds Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520960971 Category : Music Languages : en Pages : 227
Book Description
In this original study, Christopher Alan Reynolds examines the influence of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on two major nineteenth-century composers, Richard Wagner and Robert Schumann. During 1845–46 the compositional styles of Schumann and Wagner changed in a common direction, toward a style that was more contrapuntal, more densely motivic, and engaged in processes of thematic transformation. Reynolds shows that the stylistic advances that both composers made in Dresden in 1845–46 stemmed from a deepened understanding of Beethoven’s techniques and strategies in the Ninth Symphony. The evidence provided by their compositions from this pivotal year and the surrounding years suggests that they discussed Beethoven’s Ninth with each other in the months leading up to the performance of this work, which Wagner conducted on Palm Sunday in 1846. Two primary aspects that appear to have interested them both are Beethoven’s use of counterpoint involving contrary motion and his gradual development of the "Ode to Joy" melody through the preceding movements. Combining a novel examination of the historical record with careful readings of the music, Reynolds adds further layers to this argument, speculating that Wagner and Schumann may not have come to these discoveries entirely independently of each other. The trail of influences that Reynolds explores extends back to the music of Bach and ahead to Tristan and Isolde, as well as to Brahms’s First Symphony.
Author: Jonah Winter Publisher: Schwartz & Wade ISBN: 0307554007 Category : Juvenile Fiction Languages : en Pages : 74
Book Description
How hard is it to move 5 legless pianos 39 times? Beethoven owned five legless pianos and composed great works on the floor. His first apartment was in the center of Vienna's theater district... but he forgot to pay rent, so he had to move. (And it's very hard to move a piano. Even harder to move five). Beethoven's next apartment was in a dangerous part of town... so he moved, and the pianos followed on a series of pulleys. Then came an apartment with a view of the Danube (but he made too much noise and the neighbors complained), followed by an attic apartment (where he made even MORE of a rukus), and so Beethoven moved again and again. Each time, pianos were bought, left behind, transported on pulleys, slides, and by movers, all so that gifted Beethoven could compose great works of music for the world.
Author: Harvey Sachs
Author: David Benjamin Levy
Author: Esteban Buch
Author: Hector Berlioz
Author: Alexander Rehding
Author: George Grove
Author: Nicholas Cook
Author: Christopher Alan Reynolds
Author: Christopher Alan Reynolds
Author: Jonah Winter