Beethoven the conductor...

[Preston]

I have read a couple descriptions about Beethoven's style of conducting... but cannot remember them, . I was wondering if any of you would be gracious enough to tell me about Beethoven's style as a conductor. Like how he moved during legato, tremolo, fortissimo, etc., and just how he conducted, .

Best Regards,
Preston

[Peter]

By all accounts Beethoven's conducting was as eccentric as his appearance in later life. Louis Spohr has left us the following account:

"Beethoven was playing a new piano concerto of his, but already at the first tutti, forgetting that he was soloist, he jumped up and began to conduct in his own peculiar fashion. At the first Sforzando he threw out his arms so wide that he knocked over both the lamps from the music stand of the piano."

During a performance of the 7th symphony he is reported as having crouched down incredibly low when the music was soft and having leapt into the air when he thought the fortissimo was due - unfortunately because of his deafness he was ahead of the orchestra and quickly realised his mistake!

[Joy]

An odd piece of conducting indeed. I wonder what the audience thought. Did they know by now that he was going deaf and that this might have been part of the problem?

[Preston]

Thanks Peter.

Are there anymore accounts of Beethoven's conducting that anyone knows of?

[Luis Mariano]

This is the testimony of the very famous soprano singer Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient about a rehearsal of "Fidelio" in 1822.

Pay atention to the fact that she mentions that Beethoven was using a baton:

"Under the guidance of my talented mother many of the traits in Leonore's character became clear to me; however, I was still too young, too little developed within to have a full understanding of what took place in Leonore's soul, emotions for which Beethoven had conceived his immortal harmonies. At the rehearsals which were led by Umlauf who was then kapellmeister, the limits of my underdeveloped young voice soon became known and many things in my part were changed for me so that the effect did not suffer too much. The last rehearsals were set, when I learned before the dress rehearsal that Beethoven had asked for the honor of conducting the work himself in celebration of the day. On hearing this news a great fear came over me, and I also remember my frightful awkwardness which nearly drove my poor mother, as well as those who were working with me, to despair. But Beethoven sat in the orchestra and waved his baton over everyone's heads, and I had never seen the man before!-- At that time the master's physical ear was already closed to all sounds. With a bewildered face and unearthly inspired eyes, waving his baton back and forth with violent motions, he stood in the midst of the performing musicians and didn't hear a note! If he thought it should be piano he crouched down and almost under the conductor's desk and if he wanted forte he jumped up with the strangest gestures, uttering the weirdest sounds. With each piece our courage dwindled further and I felt as though I were watching one of Hoffmann's fantastic figures appear before me. The inevitable happened: the deaf master threw the singers and orchestra completely off the beat and into the greatest confusion, and no one knew any longer where they were. Beethoven, however, knew nothing of all this, and so with difficulty our rehearsal came to an end, with which he seemed well satisfied, for he laid down his baton with a cheery smile. But now it was impossible to entrust him with the performance, and Kapellmeister Umlauf had to perform the heart-rending task of pointing out to him that the opera could not be given under his direction. I am told that he resigned himself with a melancholy look upwards, and I found him at the performance on the following night sitting in the orchestra behind Umlauf lost in profound thought. . . . Beethoven followed the whole performance with eager attention, and he looked as if he were trying to see from each of our gestures whether we have even half understood him."

[Preston]

Thank you a lot for that Luis.