Ludwig van Beethoven Chevron NSO “Symphony Goes to School” Program Prepared by Shawn Bennett and Timothy Brennan © NSO 2015.

Ludwig van BeethovenChevron NSO “Symphony Goes to School” Program

Prepared by Shawn Bennett and Timothy Brennan© NSO 2015

fast facts

o Born in Bonn, Germany

o 1770 - 1827 (age 56)

o Played piano, organ, violin, and viola

o One of the most famous and influential composers of all time.

just FYI…He wrote this…

musical era

Beethoven began his composing career in the Classical era (~1750-

1820), but his innovative musical style bridges the Classical and

Romantic (~1810-1910) periods. Most Romantic composers credit

Beethoven as one of their major influences/inspirations.

personal life

Around the year 1800, Beethoven’s hearing began to deteriorate. While

he never stopped composing in his lifetime, many of his later

compositions are quite dark in character as they were composed in

almost total deafness and depression. He may never have known what

they sounded like, outside of his own head.

legacy

After Beethoven’s death, music had changed dramatically. This is evident by the

very noticeable differences between 18th century music and 19th century music.

He wrote for a bigger orchestra, his compositions were longer, and he wrote

music that had programmatic meaning. Seriously, have a listen to these two

orchestra pieces. Beethoven did that.

What do you notice is different?

18th Century (Mozart) 19th Century (Mahler)

compositionso 9 Symphonieso 5 Piano concertio 1 Violin concertoo 32 Piano Sonataso 16 String Quartetso 1 Opera (Fidelio)o 2 Masseso 1 Oratorioo Numerous chamber

works/orchestral overturesString Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18

composition spotlightSymphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 – Mvt. 2

1812

composition spotlightFun Fact: Mvt. 2 of Symphony 7 was used on the soundtrack of the

2010 British historical drama film, The King’s Speech

Symphony no. 7

Beethoven’s 7th Symphony was composed in 1811/12 and premiered in

1813 at a war veterans charity concert. The second movement, which we

just heard, is often described as a “solemn march to war.” Beethoven may

very well have programmed this symphony to be about the Napoleonic

wars, even though the fourth movement has been described as the

“apotheosis of the dance.”

Maybe he just wanted a happy ending?

Have a listen to the fourth movement

compositions of note

o Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

o Symphony No. 5 “Fate” (slide 3)

o Symphony No. 9 “Ode to Joy”

o Piano Sonata No. 14 “Pathetique”

o Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”

o String Quartet Op. 133

see the performance!MASTERWORKS 1

September 25th, 2015The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra

also featuring Jan Lisiecki