General updates about activity the Schiller Institute is concerned about
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Op. 101 begins his “late period” sonatas. The Opus 101 is generally regarded as the first of the “late period” sonatas, in which Beethoven takes advantage of the expanded range and sturdier construction of the “Hammerklavier” to produce works of extraordinary power and richness of effect. In fact, in the […]
Beethoven’s sonata Op. 90 follows Napoleon’s defeat. Five years would lapse before another piano sonata appeared since Napoleon’s storming of Vienna. During these years, Beethoven composed his Mass in C, and organized a successful revival of his opera, now called “Fidelio”.The Opus 90 sonata was composed following the defeat of Napoleon and during the preparations […]
Beethoven’s rebuke of Napoleonic forces; a sonata for Archduke Rudolph. Napoleon’s forces approached Vienna in April of 1809, forcing the nobility to flee to their country estates, and Beethoven to shelter in his brother’s cellar, with pillows strapped over his ears to preserve what little hearing he still had. The departure of his friend and patron, […]
Life Expectancy Plunged in U.S. in First Half of 2020 Feb. 18, 2021 (EIRNS)—Preliminary estimates issued today by the CDC indicate that life expectancy in the United States dropped by a huge one year in the first half of 2020 alone, largely as a direct and indirect result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The average drop […]
Perseverance Safely on Mars, Right on Target, Ready for Her Search for Life Feb. 18, 2021 (EIRNS)—NASA’s Mars rover, Perseverance, programmed to arrive at Mars this afternoon, plunged through the atmosphere, and landed at 3:55 PM, Eastern Standard Time, exactly on schedule. It was the fifth time NASA has successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars. […]
Beethoven’s “Cuckoo” sonatina. One might suspect that the Opus 79 sonatina was actually composed much earlier than its publication date of 1809, but Beethoven’s sketchbooks show that it is a contemporary of such works as the Emperor Concerto and the Harp Quartet. This miniature sonata is also known as the “Cuckoo” for the repeated chirping […]
Russia Designing Its Own Maglev Feb. 17 (EIRNS)– Chief Designer Yuri Solomonov of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, a Russian engineering and scientific research institute which is part of the Roscosmos space corporation, told TASS this week that his institute is developing an experimental prototype of a magnetic levitated train that can operate in […]
Beethoven’s “Shakespeare” sonata, “I scorn to change my state with kings;” the great Appassionata. Opus 57 – the “Appassionata” – one of the greatest works of Beethoven’s so-called “heroic” period, provides the backdrop for the following account: In the late autumn of 1806, as Beethoven was putting the finishing touches to this sonata, his patron Prince […]
One of Beethoven’s “hidden” treasures is found in, Op. 54. Beethoven’s 22nd piano sonata, Opus 54, is like a buried treasure, appearing between the more famous Waldstein (Op. 53) and Appassionata (Op. 57). Its formidable technical and interpretive challenges also discourage many players from making the attempt. Here is an excellent performance by the Norwegian […]
Chinese Vaccines Have Begun To Arrive in Africa Beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 10, Chinese Covid-19 vaccines have begun to arrive in Africa. Separate from their commitments to the UN’s COVAX convention, China has committed to donate vaccines to 14 lesser-developed countries, with Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone leading the list. This is a commitment […]