Do I know too much about Beethoven the man...?

[PaulD]

I wonder sometimes if I know too much about Beethoven the man to the point that this knowledge biases my enjoyment of his music. I have a ton of books about him, his letters to and from, impressions from people who knew him, medical reports (or speculations) on his hearing problems, etc. I can rarely listen to his music without having this background of information in the back of my mind. It colors my interpretation of his music and I often wish I could just listen to it in a more abstract context.

When I listen to the music of other composers whose life I do not know much (if at all), my mind wanders in all sorts of direction and I often enjoy that better.

Does any of you feel the same or is it just me?

[Chris]

Actually, I avoided learning too much about Beethoven's life for exactly this reason - I was afraid it would color my impressions of his music. Of course I know basic biographical details and some circumstances of his life that are related to specific works, but I never went deeply into reading letters or medical reports. Maybe one day I will do that and see if it affects how I hear his music.

[Peter]

I'm the opposite - the more I find out the more I appreciate the music. The context it was written in is essential for me. How for example can anyone truly understand Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetique' without knowing his life story? Or any of Mahler without knowing his life's search for the meaning of existence?

[Megan]

I find I can easily separate artists foibles from his art. I always like to read about their lives.
For instance, Poets, such as Byron, I love his poetry but not his mad life style. I admire much of Wagner's works, but don't let his personality get in the way.
I love lots of Beethoven's works, but his hard life and struggle and possibly irascible personality don't get in the way. It is their Art I appreciate most.
There is a particular pianist whom I consider wonderful, but I can't stand his weird grimaces while playing pieces. It doesn't phase me .

[PaulD]

Thank you for your replies. I suppose that, pushed to the extreme, there is the quote «Admire the art, deplore the artist». I saw on the internet that there is a whole discussion on this and this forum has probably touched on this topic in the past.

It is probably too late for me when I listen to familiar Beethoven's works to experience different feelings. It is as if I had developed a set of feelings and images, each set attached to a particular work, that resurface in my mind when the music starts. I wish sometimes I could «unhear» music or «unread» a good book in order to experience it freshly for the first time.

[Peter]

Thank you for your replies. I suppose that, pushed to the extreme, there is the quote «Admire the art, deplore the artist». I saw on the internet that there is a whole discussion on this and this forum has probably touched on this topic in the past.

It is probably too late for me when I listen to familiar Beethoven's works to experience different feelings. It is as if I had developed a set of feelings and images, each set attached to a particular work, that resurface in my mind when the music starts. I wish sometimes I could «unhear» music or «unread» a good book in order to experience it freshly for the first time.

I agree there is nothing like the first time you come across a new piece of music and it is impossible to recreate that experience. I've never forgotten the excitement each week of going to the local music library when I was around 14 and discovering Beethoven's works.

I'm not sure about that quote, sounds too judgemental for me - we can never understand another human being totally unless we have lived their life. We live in a cynical age and it is easy to highlight faults and of course Beethoven like the rest of us had plenty, but as Beethoven said 'of Princes there are and will be thousands, but there is only one Beethoven'.

[Sorrano]

Something that has been useful to me is that I stopped listening to Beethoven's works for a long period, having been over-saturated with especially a few more popular works (thanks to the local radio station). While listening to the Exploring Music program some of his music was played that had a powerful effect upon me, reminding me of times when the music was still fairly new to me. I nearly felt as if I had not heard this music before, yet knew that I had.

[Zevy]

My 2 cents: As much as we know about Beethoven from what he and others wrote, we learn even more from his music. Just from listening to his music, it is very evident (to me) what he was like.

[Enrique]

I can tell about my experience with Bach's B minor mass. One day I turned on the radio and the station was transmiting the first Kyrie from that work. I will never forget the effect it had upon me. I think it was like being in the presence of God if God exists.

What happened? I had listened to the Mass some years before. The information was somewhere in my memory but I lacked the means of retrieving it. But when listening now, it all went in a split second to the surface (image memory as a waterhole). It is this retrieving of the data which makes the experience so special, I think.

Here is a different case: I had an old recording of the Rite of Spring (Stravinsky conducting) and the record must have been played hundreds of times so it had a lot of distortion. Plus the amplifier I used in those days was of very low quality. However I used to play it frequently up to the point that I knew the work by heart. One day reading the newspaper I found a review of a Deutsche Grammophone recording of this work by Karajan and the Berlin Philarmonic. I immediately went to the nearest shop and bought the record. My father was an electronics engineer and in his laboratory he always had top quality audio components. One always found there reflex bafles with 15-inch woofers. So what I did was to take the record to the laboratory and ask my father to play it.

And there I was listening to the Rite of Spring with a brand new record and a high end stereo system (plus my father used to listen to music at very high volume levels). The impression I got was unforgettable. My father praised the recording.

[Albert Gans]

I must say that both Beethoven's life and his works fascinate me. It will depend on the mood I am in, whether I reflect on the man while listening to the music, or not. Very often, I just live in the moment when listening to his music, even if I have read several biographies. Some of my friends call me obsessive.
At the same time, his life is remarkable and if one reads about him, of course, one can easily see many links between events in his life and the music. To me, it just gives more depth, understanding, and appreciation of his music. While I can see him wondering around the hills of Heiligenstadt when listening to the Pastorale, I certainly don't get a picture of him in my mind when listening to the Arietta of Opus 111. There, I feel, life is being 'pictured' in a very abstract way. I don't think of LvB, but get carried on a journey through life in a nearly metaphysical way.
To me, both these aspects (and many more) make the wonder of Beethoven and his music. It simply is so multi-faceted; there's no other I know that can cover so much with music. It is his uniqueness. At least, that is how I feel about him.
Yes, the Godly in Bach (or Handel's Messias); yes the quest for a sense in life with Mahler. But to me, only Beethoven manages to cover the full range of human existence's questions.