Spectacular Fireworks

[stude_ham]

I found these two Youtubes entries to be really good.

This link gets you Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks Overture. It's a royal good show and very well worth the effort of watching the entire video of about 10 minutes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I38Kw-oG0kE

The Beethoven Consecration of the House is a short work published exactly between the Missa Solemnis (opus 123) and the 9th Symphony (opus 125). To my ears The Consecration appears to be inspired by Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks Overture, possibly as a fantastic tribute to Handel, whom Beethoven greatly admired.

I rather like the very spirited performance ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8ykmhb71gc

Enjoy!

[Hofrat]

You wrote:

"The Beethoven Consecration of the House is a short work composed exactly between the Missa Solemnis (opus 123) and the 9th Symphony (opus 125)."

Please erase the word "composed" and replace it with the word "published." Beethoven's list of opus numbers indicates the order of publication, not composition.

[stude_ham]

Thank you Hofrat for pointing out this very subtle detail. You are quite right... the more correct word to use is published rather than composed... from the abundant references, the Consecration (opus 124)was composed and performed in 1822, while the Missa (opus 123) was composed from 1819-1823, and first performed on April 7, 1824. The 9th Symphony (opus 125) appears to have been started in 1818, but may have been worked on in bits and pieces a lot earlier, was finished in 1824, and premiered on May 7, 1824.