Conert Review

[Joy]

I was off to a concert Fri night and enjoyed Opus 10/3, Opus 110, and Opus 57 (The Appassionata). All of it was great. The Appassionata brought down the house. The pianist was fantastic. Flying through the ending so well he got a standing ovation.
After that was intermission and someone had to come out on stage and tune up the piano after that rousing ending. Ira Brillant (one of the people responsible for putting together the book, "Beethoven's Hair") was there. He sat behind me and was asked to stand and get recognition after the concert.
He also brought copies of the Sonatas, the "Beethoven's Hair" book, a picture of the lock of Beethoven's hair, and pictures of Bonn and Vienna during Beethoven's time which they had in a display case in the lobby.
All in all a very enjoyable evening.
Joy

[Rod]

Originally posted by Joy:
I was off to a concert Fri night and enjoyed Opus 10/3, Opus 110, and Opus 57 (The Appassionata). All of it was great. The Appassionata brought down the house. The pianist was fantastic. Flying through the ending so well he got a standing ovation.
After that was intermission and someone had to come out on stage and tune up the piano after that rousing ending. Ira Brillant (one of the people responsible for putting together the book, "Beethoven's Hair") was there. He sat behind me and was asked to stand and get recognition after the concert.
He also brought copies of the Sonatas, the "Beethoven's Hair" book, a picture of the lock of Beethoven's hair, and pictures of Bonn and Vienna during Beethoven's time which they had in a display case in the lobby.
All in all a very enjoyable evening.
Joy

An interesting programme. I'm a little surprised that all 3 works are out of B's 'big guns' drawer - typically I would have expected the inclusion of a lighter work to add contrast, thus allowing a more effective appreciation of the programme as a whole - for example op110 was followed by op57 - two emotionally intense pieces. I would have opened with op57, then followed with, say op78 or 90, then with op110 as the finale - this order being also cronologically correct. Or am I just nit-picking? What was performed after the intermission?

------------------
"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Claudie MICAULT]

Who was this wonderful pianist ? It is always nice to know... I find personnally the slow mouvement of opus 10 n° 3 very deep.
Even with the two "monsters" aside in the same program. You have been lucky to enjoy such an evening !!!

------------------
Claudie

[Peter]

Originally posted by Claudie MICAULT:
I find personnally the slow mouvement of opus 10 n° 3 very deep.

I think it's one of the profoundest things Beethoven had written up till then, save perhaps the Joseph ll Cantata. I've played this sonata in public and the second movement is a real test to bring off. Interesting that another very deep work from the early period - Op.18 no.1 slow movement is also in the same key of D minor.

------------------
'Man know thyself'

[Joy]

Originally posted by Rod:
An interesting programme. I'm a little surprised that all 3 works are out of B's 'big guns' drawer - typically I would have expected the inclusion of a lighter work to add contrast, thus allowing a more effective appreciation of the programme as a whole - for example op110 was followed by op57 - two emotionally intense pieces. I would have opened with op57, then followed with, say op78 or 90, then with op110 as the finale - this order being also cronologically correct. Or am I just nit-picking? What was performed after the intermission?

No, you're not nit-picking, Rod. The program went like this:
Opus 10/3
Opus 57
then a 10 min. intermission
Opus 48/5 and Opus 48/6
then Opus 110
This was performed by one of the University's
music professors and was a free concert, if you can believe it. They're always putting on free concerts at ASU (Arizona State University). In Feb. through March, of this year, they also performed 10 of B's piano and violin sonatas as well, in three different concert programs, but, alas, I did not get to go to any of those. Cursed work schedule.
Joy

[Joy]

Originally posted by Claudie MICAULT:
Who was this wonderful pianist ? It is always nice to know... I find personnally the slow mouvement of opus 10 n° 3 very deep.
Even with the two "monsters" aside in the same program. You have been lucky to enjoy such an evening !!!

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The pianist is Caio Pagano and the tenor was David Britton.
It was performed at our Arizona State University. They're always putting on great music concerts and all for free! I was sitting next to someone and she kept saying
about the pianist, "That's my teacher, that's my teacher" She was all excited.
Joy

[MCS]

The high point of the concert season in Toronto took place the other night and yours truly was there with bells on....An all-Beethoven evening, with the Romances for Violin and Orchestra, the 8th Symphony and the 7th. Performing and conducting was the great Itzhak Perlman. The Romances were heavenly, the 8th dynamic, but the 7th made me wish they'd change that rule about not applauding between movements. (I practically had to sit on my hands!)
What made the evening even more enjoyable for me was that I was accompanied by my 12-year old daughter, who's growing up to be quite the Beethovenian, and my 75-year old mum, who was attending her first symphony concert. (She found the music "exhausting" but thoroughly enjoyable.)
It was just like 2 hours of heaven here on earth....Bliss..

Mary

[PDG]

Hey, 3 generations of MCSes at a Beethoven concert! Tell us what you made of the 7th's scherzo, Mary - I know you didn't used to particularly like this movement.

------------------
PDG (Peter)

[MCS]

Originally posted by PDG:
Hey, 3 generations of MCSes at a Beethoven concert! Tell us what you made of the 7th's scherzo, Mary - I know you didn't used to particularly like this movement.

Well, it still isn't my favorite part of that symphony, but I preferred Perlman's treatment of it to what I'm used to (Karajan). I can't explain it musically, but it seemed less choppy or disjointed.
BTW, something comical happened just before this movement started. It seemed like the whole concert hall erupted in a fit of coughing. No one DARED make a sound during the second movement and had to hold it in till the end. I imagine there were quite a few blue faces among the audience during that slow march!
Mary