Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German pianis… Read Full Bio ↴Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German pianist and composer of the transitional period between the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He is often regarded as one of the most brilliant, prolific and influential composers of all time.
Beethoven is widely regarded as a master of musical construction, sometimes sketching the architecture of a movement before he had decided upon the subject matter. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or 'germ-motives', to achieve unity between movements in long compositions. (Some insight into the meaning of the germ-motive device is given at the end of this bio.) Equally remarkable was his use of source-motives', which recurred in many different compositions and lent some unity to his life’s work. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the well-crystallised form of the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, which brought it closer to sonata form. He was mostly inspired by the natural course of nature, and liked to write songs describing nature.
Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other instrumental sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, lieder, and one opera.
Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods:
In the Early (Classical) period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas.
The Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around his encroaching deafness. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle period works include six symphonies (numbers 3 to 8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (numbers 7 to 11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata"), and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven's Late (Romantic) period began around 1816. The Late-period works are characterised by intellectual depth, intense and highly personal expression, and formal innovation (for example, the Op. 131 string quartet has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). Works of this period also include the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets, and the last five piano sonatas.
Deconstructing the sonata form, both in the overall schema (movements, tempos) and in the micro-form, Beethoven began to use germinal ideas propelling the whole melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic progression. In the first quartet of the group (E flat major, Op.127 – February 1825), the Adagio has five variations (in this case, a source-theme becomes the backbone of the tempo). That same year, in July, Quartet in A minor, Op.132, features a first movement with the traditional two themes, but without contrast; they display and disseminate sub-sections and ‘germs’ in a circular frame, interlocking with each other. Beethoven's germ-motive is like a Bach choral, summoning the other voices around itself.
The last quartet, Op. 135 in F major, was composed in a downplayed form, going back to a more traditional four-tempo structure. But internally one finds the same frozen micro-structure: the first movement is harmonically ambiguous, whereas the scherzo sounds like Bartók, and in the finale, the canon ‘Es muss sein’ plays a joyful role. A terrible grave comes in afterward, to dissolve into a soft pizzicato: adieu music, adieu life . It was never heard by the now deaf Beethoven, and he died shortly afterward.
Beethoven is widely regarded as a master of musical construction, sometimes sketching the architecture of a movement before he had decided upon the subject matter. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or 'germ-motives', to achieve unity between movements in long compositions. (Some insight into the meaning of the germ-motive device is given at the end of this bio.) Equally remarkable was his use of source-motives', which recurred in many different compositions and lent some unity to his life’s work. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the well-crystallised form of the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, which brought it closer to sonata form. He was mostly inspired by the natural course of nature, and liked to write songs describing nature.
Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other instrumental sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, lieder, and one opera.
Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods:
In the Early (Classical) period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas.
The Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around his encroaching deafness. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle period works include six symphonies (numbers 3 to 8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (numbers 7 to 11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata"), and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven's Late (Romantic) period began around 1816. The Late-period works are characterised by intellectual depth, intense and highly personal expression, and formal innovation (for example, the Op. 131 string quartet has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). Works of this period also include the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets, and the last five piano sonatas.
Deconstructing the sonata form, both in the overall schema (movements, tempos) and in the micro-form, Beethoven began to use germinal ideas propelling the whole melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic progression. In the first quartet of the group (E flat major, Op.127 – February 1825), the Adagio has five variations (in this case, a source-theme becomes the backbone of the tempo). That same year, in July, Quartet in A minor, Op.132, features a first movement with the traditional two themes, but without contrast; they display and disseminate sub-sections and ‘germs’ in a circular frame, interlocking with each other. Beethoven's germ-motive is like a Bach choral, summoning the other voices around itself.
The last quartet, Op. 135 in F major, was composed in a downplayed form, going back to a more traditional four-tempo structure. But internally one finds the same frozen micro-structure: the first movement is harmonically ambiguous, whereas the scherzo sounds like Bartók, and in the finale, the canon ‘Es muss sein’ plays a joyful role. A terrible grave comes in afterward, to dissolve into a soft pizzicato: adieu music, adieu life . It was never heard by the now deaf Beethoven, and he died shortly afterward.
Sonata No. 12 "Marcia funebre" in A-Flat Major Op. 26: IV. Allegro
Ludwig van Beethoven Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Ludwig van Beethoven:
"An die Hoffnung" Op. 94 LUDWIG VcN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) cn die Hoffnung op.94 (aus…
1 Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; He…
9th Symphony Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir bet…
Ah perfido Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah perfido! Op.65 Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! perfido Op. 65: "Ah! perfido" Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! perfido Op. 65: "Per pietà non dirmi addio" Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! perfido! Op. 65 Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
An die Hoffnung op. 32 LUDWIG V. BEETHOVEN (1770-1882) cn die Hoffnung op. 32 Tex…
An die Hoffnung Op. 32 LUDWIG V. BEETHOVEN (1770-1882) cn die Hoffnung op. 32 Tex…
An die Hoffnung Op. 94 LUDWIG VcN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) cn die Hoffnung op.94 (aus…
Joyful Joyful Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; He…
Moonlight Sonata Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven We Love You All…
Presto Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir bet…
String Quartet in A major Kimi no te de kirisaite Omoi hi no kioku wo Kanashimi no…
String Quartet in A major Op. 18 No. 5: III. Andante cantabile Kimi no te de kirisaite Omoi hi no kioku wo Kanashimi no…
Symphony No. 2 in D Major I saw you standing on the corner You looked so big…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@AshishXiangyiKumar
Lewis:
00:00 – Mvt 1
08:44 – Mvt 2
11:56 – Mvt 3
17:38 – Mvt 4
Kovacevich:
21:07 – Mvt 1
27:05 – Mvt 2
29:53 – Mvt 3
35:35 – Mvt 4
Buchbinder:
38:25 – Mvt 1
45:58 – Mvt 2
48:32 – Mvt 3
55:11 – Mvt 4
The final movements of these three performances capture the pianists’ approaches pretty well: Lewis is very slow, Kovacevich nimble, and Buchbinder very fast.
Lewis is expansive and lyrical, and makes this sonata sound at several points like Schubert or late Beethoven (5:23 reminds me of the Diabelli, for instance). The tempo of the first movement is kept at a reasonably steady and slow pace (it’s not often noticed that in the score no changes to the basic meter is indicated despite variations of distinct character). The last movement seems to slowly melt from the keyboard and takes on a tranquil sheen, with the moments of harmonic stasis seeming to float independent from the rest of the movement.
Kovacevich’s playing is all about contrast: in the first movement, whose basic tempo is well above the average, he freely varies tempo to separate the variations. The accents in the second and last movements are barbed and unapologetic, and the funeral march is stark and granitic.
Bucbinder’s performance might be my favourite of the three. His shaping of the melodic line and distinct character of each variation in the first movement is immaculate (Var.2’s staccati, Var.3’s differently articulated voices, Var.4’s halting grace, Var.5’s Mozartean warmth), and the playing generally emphasises clarity and generous unfussiness. The funeral march has some beautiful touches: the crescendos in the drumrolls, for example, are helped hugely by the slight acceleration he puts into the tremolo. The last movement is taken at a very fast pace, and attains a chattering, slightly obsessive quality that’s rather amusing.
@eunsungkwon485
A♭ Major (1st movement thema, Var I, II, IV, V, 2nd movement, 4th movement)
Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.
A♭ Minor (Var III, 3rd movement)
Grumbler, heart squeezed until it suffocates; wailing lament, difficult struggle; in a word, the color of this key is everything struggling with difficulty.
https://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html
@AshishXiangyiKumar
Lewis:
00:00 – Mvt 1
08:44 – Mvt 2
11:56 – Mvt 3
17:38 – Mvt 4
Kovacevich:
21:07 – Mvt 1
27:05 – Mvt 2
29:53 – Mvt 3
35:35 – Mvt 4
Buchbinder:
38:25 – Mvt 1
45:58 – Mvt 2
48:32 – Mvt 3
55:11 – Mvt 4
The final movements of these three performances capture the pianists’ approaches pretty well: Lewis is very slow, Kovacevich nimble, and Buchbinder very fast.
Lewis is expansive and lyrical, and makes this sonata sound at several points like Schubert or late Beethoven (5:23 reminds me of the Diabelli, for instance). The tempo of the first movement is kept at a reasonably steady and slow pace (it’s not often noticed that in the score no changes to the basic meter is indicated despite variations of distinct character). The last movement seems to slowly melt from the keyboard and takes on a tranquil sheen, with the moments of harmonic stasis seeming to float independent from the rest of the movement.
Kovacevich’s playing is all about contrast: in the first movement, whose basic tempo is well above the average, he freely varies tempo to separate the variations. The accents in the second and last movements are barbed and unapologetic, and the funeral march is stark and granitic.
Bucbinder’s performance might be my favourite of the three. His shaping of the melodic line and distinct character of each variation in the first movement is immaculate (Var.2’s staccati, Var.3’s differently articulated voices, Var.4’s halting grace, Var.5’s Mozartean warmth), and the playing generally emphasises clarity and generous unfussiness. The funeral march has some beautiful touches: the crescendos in the drumrolls, for example, are helped hugely by the slight acceleration he puts into the tremolo. The last movement is taken at a very fast pace, and attains a chattering, slightly obsessive quality that’s rather amusing.
@eugeniobaroncelli6807
Thanks for your in depth comment!
@lukesargent7551
I am luis VON BEET GARTEN I am alive and well.
@jackiepike1466
@@lukesargent7551 you rock!
@mystogan6556
Buchbinder 1st. 38:33
@oficialmathias6715
Yoou alive?
@davidberlant5096
Love the key signature of the Funeral March, 7 flats!! You don't see that very often in piano music.
@anthonyfromsiny
A-flat minor is pretty rare - but the first and fourth movements were A-flat major. See also Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata - in which the first and third movements were C-sharp minor, and the second movement was C-sharp major.
@SCRIABINIST
@@anthonyfromsiny G-Sharp Minor was generally prefered...
@JoshuaPluta
@@anthonyfromsiny It's actually written in Db not C#, and so it makes it even more interesting that its written in Abm and not G#m.