amusing anecdote

[Beethoven1]

I am reading Barry Cooper's biography on Beethoven and read the following anecdote which I think you will enjoy. The recollection is by Ignaz Seyfriend, who was working at the Theater an der Wien during a concert by Beethoven here. He is referring to Beethoven's performance of his 3rd Piano Concerto... (1803)

"In the playing of the concerto movements he asked me to turn the pages for him; but-heaven help me!- that was easier said than done. I saw almost nothing but empty leaves; at the most on one page or the other a few Egyptian hieroglyphs wholly unintelligible to me scribbled down to serve as clues for him; for he played nearly all of the solo part from memory, since, as was so often the case, he had not had time to put it all down on paper. He gave me a secret glance whenever he was at the end of one of the invisible passages and my scarcely concealable anxiety not to miss the decisive moment amused him greatly and he laughed heartily at the jovial supper which we ate afterwards."

[chopithoven]

Very interesting and funny. I think there's another anecdote about Beethoven playing a concerto, when he broke the strings of the piano because he stroke them so strong!

[~Immortal Beloved~]

Hey I remember reading something like this on a beethoven documentary book a couple months ago. hehehe Like the stratagey beethoven came up with the idea.

[Peter]

Originally posted by chopithoven:
Very interesting and funny. I think there's another anecdote about Beethoven playing a concerto, when he broke the strings of the piano because he stroke them so strong!

This was a common problem with pianos of that time.

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'Man know thyself'

[chopithoven]

Originally posted by Peter:
This was a common problem with pianos of that time.

But I imagine that Beethoven had to stroke the keys more strong because he couldn't hear well, right?

[Rod]

Originally posted by chopithoven:
But I imagine that Beethoven had to stroke the keys more strong because he couldn't hear well, right?

Well I suppose this was true when his increasing deafness began to affect his performance, but regardless the strings themselves were typically quite fragile in those days.

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

[This message has been edited by Rod (edited July 22, 2002).]