Favourite Beethoven work

[lysander]

Originally posted by Peter:
It is simply an impossible question to answer - if someone asked me the same question about food or colours I'd be just as stumped. Each in its own way is the best answer.

Like children - Beethoven has spoilt us with so many goodies that it is memsmerizing and don't know where to begin or which one to chose as our favourite.

Almost like having a box of assorted exotic
mouthwatering chocolates to delight the taste buds, we are at a loss at which one to choose first.

Beethoven can also very teasing in some of his musical compositions.
His humour and teasing delights the senses, and his expression of brilliant sophisticated wit new no bounds.
On such mischievous occasions, to use his own expression, he felt "unbuttoned".

Nor did he fail to inject humour and teasing in his awe-inspiring masterpiece the Choral Symphony.
Listen for and consider for example, the humerous unpredictable opening of the second movement Scherzo, though it was entitled, Molto vivace.

He displays his impish tricks with the horn in the first movement of the Eroica.
(another favourite piece of mine)

There are many examples of humour in in his other oeuvres.

I love Beethoven's surprises and teasing moments.

Concerning the Rondo a Capriccio in G major for piano, Op.129, which was published posthumously in 1828, by Diabelli in Vienna, Robert Schumann had this to say;-

"It would be hard to conceive of anything more amusing than this little escapade. How I laughed when I played it for the first time! And how astonished I was when, a second time through, I read a footnote telling me that this capriccio, discovered among Beethoven's manuscripts after his death, bore the title; "fury over the lost penny, Vented in a Caprice".....O! it is the most adorable, futile fury, like that which seizes you when you can't get your boot off, and you sweat and swear and the boot looks up at you, phlegmatically--and unmoved!

Great isn't it!


[This message has been edited by lysander (edited March 23, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by lysander (edited March 23, 2003).]

[OboeKing]

Originally posted by lysander:


Which other works of Beethoven do you like OboeKing?
Apart from the Celestial and Choral Symphonic masterpiece, the 9th .

[This message has been edited by lysander (edited March 22, 2003).]

I am a massive fan of all five of his piano concertos, particularly numbers 1 and 5. His egmont overture really fires me up. My 2 favourite piano sonatas are the 'Hammerklavier' and the 'Apassionata.' My favourite symphonies are (as you know) the 9th, as well as the 3rd, 6th, and 7th.

These are the works that have the most special place in my heart, but there are so many others I adore it would be impossible to write them all down here.

Although everybody is entitled to an opinion, I simply feel it is impossible not to have a favourite work (or couple of works) of Beethoven's. To use the analogy of being like a spoilt child (the listener) who gets lots and lots of presents, (beethoven works) that child will almost certainly have a favourite that he will go to more often than the other toys and play with for longer, until it is in a sorry state. (I myself have had gone through 6 copies of the ninth as I have played it so much!)

I would be very interested in everbody elses views on this.

[heidi]

Originally posted by OboeKing:
I am a massive fan of all five of his piano concertos, particularly numbers 1 and 5. His egmont overture really fires me up. My 2 favourite piano sonatas are the 'Hammerklavier' and the 'Apassionata.' My favourite symphonies are (as you know) the 9th, as well as the 3rd, 6th, and 7th.

These are the works that have the most special place in my heart, but there are so many others I adore it would be impossible to write them all down here.

Although everybody is entitled to an opinion, I simply feel it is impossible not to have a favourite work (or couple of works) of Beethoven's. To use the analogy of being like a spoilt child (the listener) who gets lots and lots of presents, (beethoven works) that child will almost certainly have a favourite that he will go to more often than the other toys and play with for longer, until it is in a sorry state. (I myself have had gone through 6 copies of the ninth as I have played it so much!)

I would be very interested in everbody elses views on this.

I, too, could never pick one favorite piece of Beethoven's work. It all depends on what mood I am in. I do have one that always touches my heart when I listen to it. The last movement of the Pastoral Symphony, the Shepards Song, always is very calming to me. I usually listen to it if I've had a troubling day. It never fails to make me feel a little better.

[Gurn Blanston]

Perhaps by genre would be the way to go. I'll try that, then;

String Quartet - Serioso
Piano Sonata - Op 111 (and Op 13, 57 & 106. That's 4, sue me! ;-))
Symphony - #9
Piano Concerto - #4
Other Concerto - Violin
Overture - Egmont
Violin Sonata - Op 47
Cello Sonata - #3
Piano Trio - Op 1 #3 in c minor
String Trio - Op 9 #3, also in c minor
Piano piece - WoO 57 Andante favori
Misc. other - Notturno For Viola & Piano Op 42

I didn't want to do it, you made me. ;-))
Regards, Gurn

[OboeKing]

Okay, okay, I suppose it was a bit of a difficult question to answer!!! I'm gonna change it a bit so we can add more pieces to our favourites. You have to pick a favourite out of each category:

Symphony

Piano Sonata

String Sonata (one of his violin sonatos or cello sonatas, etc)

Concerto

Overture

String Quartet

And one other piece that does not fit into these popular categories but is still one of your favourites!

This is slightly better, don't you think?

[melvyn]

Originally posted by OboeKing:
Okay, okay, I suppose it was a bit of a difficult question to answer!!! I'm gonna change it a bit so we can add more pieces to our favourites. You have to pick a favourite out of each category:
This is slightly better, don't you think?

Yes it is, but I think you should start a new thread.

Melvyn.

[jman]

ah...what a excellent post to make my first!!!...the subject IS hard to decide upon. Unfortunately, I don't know too much of Beethoven's work; other than this 5-9th symphonies and a few piano Sonatas I'm only familiar with his work through 'Greatest Works of Beethoven" sort of CDs. So I've heard a range of work, but usually only excerpts.

Regardless I feel that the Ninth Symphony is easily my favorite piece. The entire thing, in fact, although if I had to pick a more narrowed down part, it would be the Finale. I think that that whole symphony is the best piece of music ever written.

For piano sonatas, I haven't even heard too many of them. Soon, I'm hoping to get an entire collection of them. But I love the one that I play right now--Op. 79. Last year i played Op. 49 No. 2 and that one's pretty good too. But of course, who can forget Moonlight?? Still, I'd stick with Op. 79 as my favorite piano sonata.

[OboeKing]

Originally posted by jman:
ah...what a excellent post to make my first!!!...the subject IS hard to decide upon. Unfortunately, I don't know too much of Beethoven's work; other than this 5-9th symphonies and a few piano Sonatas I'm only familiar with his work through 'Greatest Works of Beethoven" sort of CDs. So I've heard a range of work, but usually only excerpts.

Regardless I feel that the Ninth Symphony is easily my favorite piece. The entire thing, in fact, although if I had to pick a more narrowed down part, it would be the Finale. I think that that whole symphony is the best piece of music ever written.

For piano sonatas, I haven't even heard too many of them. Soon, I'm hoping to get an entire collection of them. But I love the one that I play right now--Op. 79. Last year i played Op. 49 No. 2 and that one's pretty good too. But of course, who can forget Moonlight?? Still, I'd stick with Op. 79 as my favorite piano sonata.

Welcome to the board! I'm relatively new around these parts myself, only joined in the middle of Feb. Still they seem a nice enough bunch I suppose... (hehe just kiddin)

Those 2 piano sonatas you mentioned are nice and pretty little works aren't they? Strangely enough these were also the first 2 Beethoven piano sonatas I learnt!

Hope to see more of your posts soon!

Regards,
Michael

[Javax]

I wish I had the gift of words that lysander has. It's immensely comforting to me, living in an overweight, blue-collar, beer-guzzling little town that there are others who feel as I do somewhere out there.

My favorite (after the 9th symphony of course) is Fur Elise. The reason is that I never knew who she was, but I always knew how Beethoven felt about her.

[Andrea]

Willkommen jman and Javax to this great Beethoven forum.

Any questions that you may have on Beethoven or about his music can be answered here. You will be able to hear audio works from the Maestro posted here, thanks to Rod and his vast collection. You'll be able to hear works that you may have never heard before. I always look forward to these musical postings and I am continually amazed at how much of Beethoven's music I've not heard before. You would think that since I live in Vienna and am surrounded by Beethoven that I would have heard and seen it all. From this forum alone I have learned things about Beethoven I never knew and I have heard works composed by him previously unknown to me. I hope you too will learn new things about Beethoven here and also enjoy Rod's recorded works postings. Welcome again to this board and hope to see more postings from you both.

[lysander]

Originally posted by Javax:
I wish I had the gift of words that lysander has. It's immensely comforting to me, living in an overweight, blue-collar, beer-guzzling little town that there are others who feel as I do somewhere out there.

My favorite (after the 9th symphony of course) is Fur Elise. The reason is that I never knew who she was, but I always knew how Beethoven felt about her.

Welcome Javax, and thankyou for you kind complement, though I don't quite know how I have deserved it. Sometimes I am a bit sober and serious, but most the time I just ramble on a bit, and other members are so wonderful and pleased to help me with any questions.
You will find this site a goldmine of information on Beethoven's Life and Works and discover people who understand and feel the same as you do.
You are never alone with Beethoven!

Hope you stay with us.

[Javax]

Thank you both so much. Glad to be here.

[Troels]

Originally posted by lysander:
Beethoven's late string quartets have a particular place in my heart, but it is Opus 135, that profoundly moves me the most.

I am one of those people who tend to regard opus 135 as slightly inferior compared with the other late quartets. I might really choose any of the others, but if I MUST prefer one of them it would most likely be opus 131.

[Gurn Blanston]

Originally posted by Troels:
I am one of those people who tend to regard opus 135 as slightly inferior compared with the other late quartets. I might really choose any of the others, but if I MUST prefer one of them it would most likely be opus 131.

Curious as to why that might be (not the liking of 131, but regarding 135 as inferior)? If I had to venture a guess without knowing you, I would suspect that it might be the rather surprising return to the 18th century at that late date. This habit of B's spans his entire career and should not be entirely surprising, witness the 8th Symphony for example. I actually am quite fond of Op 135, I think it is a suitable farewell for a genius whose life spanned two completely different eras of music, and who was loyal to the "old school" to the end, even as he embraced the new.
Regards, Gurn

[Peter]

Originally posted by Gurn Blanston:
I think it is a suitable farewell for a genius whose life spanned two completely different eras of music, and who was loyal to the "old school" to the end, even as he embraced the new.
Regards, Gurn

But he didn't embrace the new! He was critical of the new generation - Spohr he regarded as too chromatic (Rosen points out that "Beethoven was just as chromatic as any composer before Wagner, but that the chromaticism is alays resolved and blended into a background which ends by leaving the tonic triad absolute master"), Weber nothing but diminshed 7ths, Rossini was virtually beneath contempt. When asked who was the greatest living composer after himself, his answer was Cherubini - the most conservative of them all!

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'Man know thyself'