The idea of this entry began as a review of the collection Beethoven at Bedtime but has evolved into one about Beethoven in general.  I’m not a huge Classical Music fan but there are certain composers that really strike a personal chord with me.  On top of that list is Beethoven.  This is not just because of the music but of the odd, passionate character behind it along with all he went through to make his music possible.

The selections in Beethoven at Bedtime are not only magnificent for the evening (most of the performances culled from the 1960’s and 1970’s) but the liner notes (shallow as they were) do acknowledge the triumph his music was over his despair and pain.  These notes made me recall a book I really enjoyed called, The Ninth: Beethoven and his World in 1824 by Harvey Sachs.  It discusses the political atmosphere he lived in as the as well the political struggles he endured to get his ninth symphony performed.  Added to that, he was living in extreme poverty and had to get street musicians to perform what was to be his last completed symphony.  Factor in his deafness and you can get a picture of how difficult it was.

Like Mozart, Beethoven started as a musical prodigy as a lad.  Many were projecting him as the new Mozart.  In many ways, however, he was the complete opposite.  Mozart could have been called the Paul McCartney of his day.  He wrote some very interesting and complicated pieces alongside more simplistic and popular melodies (many in response to Royal requests or those from his patrons).  Mozart had little problem with this dichotomy.  Beethoven did.  He had no problem giving the proverbial middle finger to royalty and his patrons and , oddly enough, they were patient with him (enough of the time to fund his next project).  Beethoven was not exactly the easiest guy to deal with nor was he entirely understood by the public at the time.  For example, his Fifth Symphony (whose opening measures were used so much throughout the twentieth century, there are few that would not recognize it today) was considered a disaster.  Some critics at the time called it “discordant” and “offensive.”

Despite his prickliness, Beethoven was a romantic (sentimental as opposed to “love songiness”) at heart as evidenced in his first two symphonies and his Sixth as well.  The difficulty in his music lies (in my opinion) in the fact that it has a tendency to be unpredictable.  He’d set you up with a nice comfortable melody and then have a total musical explosion in the middle then resolve it.  After that it’s anyone’s guess.  Beethoven was a constant experimenter and was always thinking music.  There was a quote (and I’m not sure which book I got it from) that I think is appropriate.   Upon being confronted by an enthusiastic fan who was praising his music in an emphatic manner, Beethoven calmly responded, “That is nothing in comparison to what I hear in my head.”

I normally don’t like collections of excerpts (which are usually chopped up pieces played out of context by musicians and conductors of incompatible styles) but this one was obviously assembled with some care.  This is not only due to the selections of excerpts and performers but with order of tracks as well.  It displays a nice congruous whole that makes for a listening experience that is not only calming but enlightening as well.  It demonstrates the depth of Beethoven in his calmer moments rather than exploiting him in a shallower approach.  Besides, every collection should end with “Moonlight Sonata.” lol