As part of the international celebrations this year and next year, in honor of Beethoven, the Schiller Institute is happy to inaugurate a new feature on our website. We will regularly post selections of Beethoven’s music with short discussions of the pieces.
Beethoven: Spark of Joy – the lied, “Der Wachtelschlag” (The Quail Song) – Another fascinating comparison is the various settings of “Der Wachtelschlag” (The Quail Song), based on a widely-known folk song from the 18th century in which the rhythm…
Beethoven: Spark of Joy – HIs Mass in C, God’s Grace Comes to Those Who Act for Posterity Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II, the long-time patron of Franz Josef Haydn, commissioned a new mass setting each year for his wife’s name-day.…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Lessons from history: act for your nation. Eleonore Prochaska was the daughter of a Prussian soldier, raised in a military orphanage after the death of her mother. She was one of many German women who…
Beethoven: Spark of Joy — Tribute to the incomparable Christa Ludwig on her passing To honor the memory of the great mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, who passed away April 26th, we hear today her legendary performance in the title role of…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy — String quartet Opus 18, no. 3 The third of Beethoven’s Opus 18 string quartets was actually the first composed – Beethoven himself placed it third in the cycle. It’s a warm-hearted, genial work, with a…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18, No. 2 The second of Beethoven’s Opus 18 quartets has earned the nickname “Compliments Quartet” or “Quartet of Bows and Curtseys.” With Haydnesque overtones, it was first published in 1801. Good-natured…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Piano trio, variations on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu” theme “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu” (I am Kakadu the tailor) was the name of a popular tune from Wenzel Muller’s opera “Die Schwestern von Prag…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy — his beautiful song, An die ferne Geliebte to contemplate the future. Alois Jeitteles was a young physician who was also making a name for himself as a poet when he wrote the six poems which…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Fifth piano concerto Beethoven’s fifth and last piano concerto was published in 1810 in French-occupied Vienna, but not performed until the following year in Leipzig. The Vienna premier took place in 1812, with Beethoven’s pupil…
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy — Fourth Piano Concerto Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto is unique in that it opens not with a grandiose orchestral introduction, but with a serene statement of the ideas by the piano soloist. Following its public premiere…