I Love Ludwig

[poliphilo]

I was preparing supper, Vladimir Askenazy was sitting on the dishwasher playing the piano- and Ailz comes downstairs and says "Will you turn that down; it's banging off the walls up here."

"But it's Beethoven. It's "The Moonlight Sonata".

I will admit to sulking.

I have fallen in love with Beethoven. I was reading something the other day (I can't for the life of me think what it was) but it featured a demon whose job it was to depress the human race. Specifically, he was in the business of flattening music- by taking the joy out of it. (No I don't know how he did it either.) He could flatten pop and rock and most classical composers without any difficulty but, he admitted, he couldn't flatten Beethoven. And that gets to the heart of it, I think.  Beethoven is too authentic to flatten. There's no bombast, no sentimentality about him- nothing for a flattening demon to get hold of and work with.  He pours out his emotion- freely, uninhibitedly- and it's never meretricious, never bogus, never purely for effect.

This morning Ailz presented me with a headset. "There," she said, "You can play your music as loud as you like."

Comments

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

Sometimes true love is finding a way for your partner to do what he enjoys in a way that ensures you will never nag him about it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, true love requires diplomacy.

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

Diplomacy - and a fair bit of tolerance. ;-)

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

That third movement is rather noisy. When my grandmother played it -- especially the two chords at the end of the initial runs -- the whole house would reverberate.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

However quietly Beethoven starts it's pretty certain he's going to be kicking up a racket sooner or later.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

True. Even on demure little Für Elise.

[wyrmwwd.livejournal.com]

I love Beethoven, too.

I can't imagine how anyone could not want to hear the Moonlight Sonata.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Sitting down to listen to it is one thing, having it rattle up through the floor in a distorted form is something else.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's no way you can take the joy out of Beethoven. I'm thinking especially of the third movement of the Archduke trio - it's just the most gloriously over the top bonkers joyful piece of music ever...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I know it's fashionable to rate either Bach or Mozart as the greatest composer ever but my vote goes to Beethoven.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I tend to do this sort of thing with Mahler............

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I haven't listened to Mahler for a while. I guess I should...

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Your wish is my command!

Play loud!

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Mahler is well worth listening to.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

I play the 7th Symphony very, very loud because it's so perfect. Beethoven is arm in arm with Bach and Mozart, but I also adore Brahms. His German Requiem is exquisite.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've never been able to get alongside Brahms- though I can't say I've tried very hard.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

I learned to love him through singing his lieder and choral pieces. Of course, I came across him at an impressionable age as a teenaged music student. He, Mendelssohn and Schubert were my true loves in college.

[matrixmann]

Remember this being used in Resident Evil and the intro for Shadow Man. Has a very soothing effect through these games, especially through the intro where a voice makes clear it's Jack the Ripper.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can see how that would work.

[idahoswede.livejournal.com]

The Moonlight Sonata played well can make my chest hurt with such exquisite feeling.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Just picked up a box of his symphonies and overtures for six quid.