A Presidents Day tribute to G. Washington and A. Lincoln both of whom loved music: Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata for violin and piano played by a master.
The Kreutzer Sonata, Beethoven’s ninth for violin and piano, is sometimes referred to as “the other Ninth”. The story of its dedication is famous: The half-African violinist George Bridgetower came to Vienna, where he and Beethoven immediately hit it off. Beethoven composed this sonata for him and dedicated it accordingly. Unfortunately, during the celebration of its successful premiere, Bridgetower impugned the morals of a woman whom Beethoven admired, leading Beethoven to rip up the title page and dedicate the sonata instead to the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, who actually disliked the work and never performed it! At the age of 82, the great violinist Nathan Milstein performed the Kreutzer sonata with pianist Georges Pludermacher, in what was to become his last public performance. A short bio of Milstein precedes the sonata.[Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]
Beethoven’s Final Sonata Opus 111 Notes by Margaret Scialdone
After completing his 32nd and final piano sonata, Beethoven is said to have made the astonishing remark that the piano is “after all, an unsatisfactory instrument”. This work does indeed strain the limits of both piano and performer, the latter spiritually as well as technically. The second movement, innocuously called “Arietta” (little song), reaches almost other-worldly dimensions of emotional profundity. Although he went on to compose other works for the piano (the Diabelli Variations and Opus 119 Bagatelles), he never contemplated writing another sonata.
András Schiff Plays Beethoven Piano Sonata No 32 C minor Op 111
Beethoven’s “DerErlkönig” Notes by Margaret Scialdone
Goethe’s poem “Der Erlkönig” tells the story of a boy riding home on horseback in his father’s arms. He is frightened when he hears the seductive voice of the Erl King, a powerful and creepy supernatural being. The Erl King attempts to lure the child into joining him, promising amusement, rich clothes and the attentions of his daughters. He tells his father, who assures the child that it’s just his imagination. Suddenly the boy shrieks that the Erl king has done him harm! The father breaks into a gallop, and reaches home only to find that the boy is dead.
Der Erlkonig was set to music by several composers, Schubert’s version being the best known. Beethoven’s setting heard here, is WoO 131. Can you hear the four distinct voices?
Who rides so late through the night and wind? It is the father with his child. He has the boy in his arms; he holds him safely, he keeps him warm.
‘My son, why do you hide your face in fear?’
‘Father, can you not see the Erlking? The Erlking with his crown and tail?’
‘My son, it is a streak of mist.’
‘Sweet child, come with me. I’ll play wonderful games with you. Many a pretty flower grows on the shore; my mother has many a golden robe.’
‘Father, father, do you not hear what the Erlking softly promises me?’
‘Calm, be calm, my child: the wind is rustling in the withered leaves.’
‘Won’t you come with me, my fine lad? My daughters shall wait upon you; my daughters lead the nightly dance, and will rock you, and dance, and sing you to sleep.’
‘Father, father, can you not see Erlking’s daughters there in the darkness?’
‘My son, my son, I can see clearly: it is the old grey willows gleaming.’
‘I love you, your fair form allures me, and if you don’t come willingly, I’ll use force.’
‘Father, father, now he’s seizing me! The Erlking has hurt me!’
The father shudders, he rides swiftly, he holds the moaning child in his arms; with one last effort he reaches home; the child lay dead in his arms.
Beethoven’s humor—“The Test of Kisses” Notes by Fred Haight
This song, “Prüfung des Küssens, WoO 89” (The Test of Kissing), was composed between 1790–1791, for Bonn’s Electoral singer, Joseph Lux. It is for a bass and orchestra. The author of the text is unknown, but this song, in the Italian opera buffa style, is skillfully orchestrated and full of humor.
The text tells of a “wise” mother who instructs her son that to kiss is a sin. The boy does not agree because he gets them free from Doris, and things seem to be fine. They may, however, lead to other woes.
The orchestration is through-composed. There is a surprising amount of variety in the work, including three tempo changes and a shift from 4/4 to 2/2 meter. The orchestra stands independent of the vocal area and doubling the singer only at particular moments such as cadences.
TEXT: Meine weise Mutter spricht Meine weise Mutter spricht: Küssen, Küssen, Kind! ist Sünde! Und ich armer Sünder finde, Doch das Ding so böse nicht.
Mord und Diebstahl, weiß ich wohl, Ist ein schreckliches Vergehen Aber, trotz, den will ich sehen, Der mich das beweisen soll.
Meine Küsse stehl’ ich nicht: Doris gibt von freien Stücken, Und ich seh’s an ihren Blicken, Daß ihr wenig Leid geschicht.
Oft begiebt es sich, daß wir Uns, vor Lust, die Lippen beißen: Aber soll das Morden heißen? Gott bewahre mich dafür!
Mutter! Mutter! Schmäherei! Sünd’ ist Küssen? Ist es eine; Nun, ich armer Sünder meine, Daß sie nicht zu lassen se
TRANSLATION: My wise mother speaks My wise mother says: Kissing, kissing, child, is a sin! Though I do not find the poor sinner As bad as the thing itself Murder and theft, I know Are terrible offenses But in spite of that I want to see It proven it to me.
I do not steal my kisses: Doris gives of her own free will, And I see it in her looks That she has little suffering.
It often happens that we Bite our lips with lust: But should that be called murder? God keep me from that!
Mother! Mother! Abuse! Sin is kissing? They are one; I mean, this poor sinner of mine, Should she even be allowed!
“Prüfung des Küssens” (“Examen de los besos”), aria para bajo y orquesta, WoO 89. L. van Beethoven
Beethoven : Creatures of Prometheus Notes by Margaret Scialdone
In 1801 the ballet master Salvatore Viganó was commanded to prepare a performance for Empress Maria Theresa. He chose the subject of Prometheus giving science and the arts to Mankind, and turned to Beethoven to compose a score for his libretto. “Creatures of Prometheus” is Beethoven’s only full-length ballet, with overture, introduction, 15 numbers, and a finale. As the original libretto has been lost, it’s no longer staged as a ballet.
In this 1960 performance, Charles Munch conducts the Boston Symphony orchestra in excerpts from Beethoven’s Opus 43, The Creatures of Prometheus.
In the course of his lengthy interview with NBC journalist Keir Simmons, aired two days before the Putin-Biden summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin identified for the American people a couple of areas in which both countries could cooperate, and explained how. The interview had some 750,000 views as of the afternoon of the summit.
Putin considers space one such major area of cooperation. He flatly rejected Simmons’s suggestion that Russia is preparing to stop cooperation with NASA on space, in favor of work with China, and dismissed Simmon’s reference to an earlier statement by the head of Russia’s space program, Dmitry Rogozin, that Russia would cut off cooperation with NASA if sanctions against Roscosmos companies were not lifted.
“We are prepared to work with the US in space. I think recently the head of NASA said that he could not imagine development of space programs without its partnership with Russia. We welcome this statement and we value it…. The cooperation between our two countries in space is a great example of a situation where, despite any kind of problems in political relationships in recent years, it’s an area where we have been able to maintain and preserve the partnership and both parties cherish it,” Putin responded.
Asserting that he knows Rogozin supports expanding the relationship with the US in space, Putin told Simmons “I think you just misunderstood what the head of the Russian space program said.”
“We are interested in continuing to work with the US in this direction, and we will continue to do so if our US partners don’t refuse to do that. It doesn’t mean that we need to work exclusively with the US. We have been working and will continue to work with China, which applies to all kinds of programs, including exploring deep space…. Frankly, I don’t see any contradictions here. I don’t think there is any mutual exclusivity here.”
Space science and exploration, recent breakthroughs in controlled thermonuclear fusion are the science drivers for a growing and prosperous human race. Man is surely a galactic species, and the realization of that idea has profound implications for everything from education and healthcare, to the potential for new Beethovens and Mozarts. That issue of scientific and artistic creativity will be central to the upcoming Schiller Institute/ICLC conference.
For the Common Good of all People, not the Rules Benefiting the Few!
International Schiller Institute/ICLC online conference, June 26/ 27, 2021
The three crew members of the first mission to China’s space station are on their way to start a 30-day trial of the first element of the station—the core module. Their mission includes very specific objectives, including unpacking the supplies delivered by a cargo ship; activating and testing the life support systems; donning EVA suits which have already been delivered, and so forth.
This mission will be for three months. It has been more than five years since the last manned mission, and a lot of new technology has been developed over that time, which can only be tested in space. If everything is running smoothly, the following missions will last six months each, instead of three.
Space science and exploration, recent breakthroughs in controlled thermonuclear fusion are the science drivers for a growing and prosperous human race. Man is surely a galactic species, and the realization of that idea has profound implications for everything from education and healthcare, to the potential for new Beethovens and Mozarts. That issue of scientific and artistic creativity will be central to the upcoming Schiller Institute/ICLC conference.
For the Common Good of all People, not the Rules Benefiting the Few!
International Schiller Institute/ICLC online conference, June 26/ 27, 2021
The head of Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, spoke yesterday at the Global Space Exploration Conference 2021 taking place in St. Petersburg from June 14-18, and he called for international cooperation to address the dangers posed by asteroids and comets that could collide with the Earth.
Rogozin is a close ally of President Putin, and his remarks were well-timed to issue a call for US-Russian cooperation right before the Biden-Putin summit. “There is no technology that would make it possible to change the trajectory and ward off the danger for our Earth,” Rogozin stated. “It is necessary to create these technologies, but not a single country will be able to do that alone. This is a common task to protect our planet… The most important task is how to protect the planet from hazardous collisions with celestial bodies that may ruin civilization.”
Rogozin’s call for cooperation to address threats coming from space, resembles Lyndon LaRouche’s long-standing policy proposal for the Strategic Defense of the Earth.
Space science and exploration, recent breakthroughs in controlled thermonuclear fusion are the science drivers for a growing and prosperous human race. Man is surely a galactic species, and the realization of that idea has profound implications for everything from education and healthcare, to the potential for new Beethovens and Mozarts. That issue of scientific and artistic creativity will be central to the upcoming Schiller Institute/ICLC conference.
For the Common Good of all People, not the Rules Benefiting the Few!
International Schiller Institute/ICLC online conference, June 26/ 27, 2021
We are eternally grateful to Beethoven’s brother Kaspar, who arranged for the publication, against the composer’s wishes, of the two “Leichte Sonaten” Opus 49. There is hardly a piano student who has not learned from study of these graceful pieces. We present here the Opus 49 number 2, Beethoven’s 20th piano sonata, complete with score (performer sadly unidentified). [Notes by Margaret Scialdone.]
When Beethoven Becomes Hilarious! Notes by Fred Haight
We have had several episodes on Beethoven’s sense of humor. Today, we cross over into utter hilarity. Beethoven composed folk songs in many languages, including English, Italian, Danish, and Russian.
The first piece today is not a folk song but a setting of Goethe’s The Flea from his Faust. Its part of 6 songs that he composed in 1809, op. 75, no. 3. It’s in German. Here, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau performs the song, with English subtitles.
2. One commenter reminded us of the song Ih nit di Nehma, from 23 Songs of Different Nationalities, WoO158a (1816/17). If you are wondering what language it is, it appears to be a Tyrolean dialect. Tyrol/Trentino straddles Austria and Italy. It is mountainous and apparently has a lot of regional dialects. We print here the closest thing we could find to a translation. Two things are clear a). There is a lot of yodeling. b). A woman is rejecting a man, and by the sound of her voice, he should not be too disappointed.
I nit di nehma I like di nit nehma, You top pike, You can’t come to me You were much too bad for me; And you wanna be my man You urban aff, What do you think of no You foolish laff You talked yodel, What you need a woman You have a soda Koan juice more in body; You’re cute like a brue And cute as a bird what did a woman do to you. The gannet from Passau Is your contrase You kier like a Spanau, Now go and go Stop your grumbling I’m telling you I give you a faunzen You talketer bue.
Glossary Talketer Jodel = foolish journeyman You have = anyway Contrase = image You kier = you squeak Faunzen = slap in the face
3. L’amante Impazione (the Impatient Lover) Op 82, No. 3 and 4 (composed 1809), are in Italian. The lover seems a bit infantile. Beethoven captures this manic-depressive quality by setting it twice, once in a manic way, and once in a depressive way, using exactly the same words. Both are played here. Click on two separate videos to hear the two versions!
Che fa, che fa il mio bene? Perché non viene? Vedermi vuole languir Così, così, così! Oh come è lento nel corso il sole! Ogni momento mi sembra un dì, Che fa, che fa il mio bene? Perchè, perché non viene? Vedermi vuole languir Così, così, così!
What is my darling doing? Perhaps she will not come? She likes to see me pine away Like this, like this, like this How slowly the sun runs its course, Every second’s like a day. What is my darling doing? Perhaps she will not come ……. ? She likes to see me pine away Like this, like this, like this.
