Beethoven | Deutsche Welle
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Beethoven and more podcast #28: Bach meets Brazil
This piece by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos melds the influences ...
This piece by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos melds the influences of his home country's music with those of Bach and the classical canon.Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 Sinfonica Heliopolis Conductor: Peter Guelke MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn, on October 6, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) "The polyphony here is an expression of Brazilian culture and lust for life," said conductor Peter Guelke of the "Bachianas Brasileiras." In these pieces, the Brazilian composer melds the folklore of his homeland with the world of the Baroque. Johann Sebastian Bach's instrumental suites may have served as a model. The result is a sort of South American-German world music, seemingly custom-made for the energetic young musicians of the Sinfonica Heliopolis, whose rhythmic drive is compelling and sheer joy in playing unlimited. Author: Greg WiserEditor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #27: The Unfinished
The youth orchestra from the Brazilian slum of Heliopolis performs ...
The youth orchestra from the Brazilian slum of Heliopolis performs Schubert's Seventh Symphony, a piece with dimensions that are often overlooked, says conductor Peter Guelke.Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Symphony No. 7 (Unfinished) Sinfonica Heliopolis Conductor: Peter Guelke MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn, on October 6, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) Contrast is the watchword for this symphony performed by the Brazilian orchestra Sinfonica Heliopolis, a work the composer left incomplete. "The conflict at the center of the piece is between a deeply passionate person and his harsh environment," said conductor Peter Guelke. "But many of us have heard this piece so often that we no longer hear the harshness in it. We think we know it, but we don't." The theme of passionate resistance to a harsh environment parallels the orchestra's own story. Although many come from disadvantaged backgrounds, the young musicians in Sinfonica Heliopolis receive the financial support necessary to get an education in classical music at the Instituto Baccarelli, founded in 1996 by conductor Silvio Baccarelli. Following their performance, conductor Guelke introduced two of the horn players to the audience, to thunderous applause. Both less than fifteen years old, the two showed just how young some of the ensemble's members are. But Sinfonica Heliopolis also proves their musical maturity with their rendition of this Schubert symphony. Author: Greg WiserEditor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #26: A late work by Mozart
Sinfonica Heliopolis sets the stage for their second Beethovenfest concert ...
Sinfonica Heliopolis sets the stage for their second Beethovenfest concert with an exciting performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's overture to his final opera, "La Clemenza di Tito."Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Overture to the opera "La Clemenza di Tito," K. 621 Sinfonica Heliopolis Conductor: Peter Guelke MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn, on October 6, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) Sinfonica Heliopolis - the orchestra's name suggests the sun-bathed streets of its home city, Sao Paulo, Brazil. But Heliopolis is also the city's largest slum and home to many of Sinfonica Heliopolis' members. Among the works they played during the first stop of their first international tour was the overture to opera "La Clemenza di Tito" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The work was one of the last that Mozart wrote before his death in 1791. Legend has it that the great composer finished the piece in eighteen days, just in time for its performance during the coronation festivities of Emperor Leopold of Prague. The exact amount of time Mozart required is contested, but it's generally agreed that the work was composed with remarkable speed. Overtures in opera generally accompany the opening of the curtain and grab the audience's attention. Sinfonica Heliopolis set the stage for their concert, fittingly, with this overture. Right from the beginning, the orchestra's enthusiasm for playing music drew in the audience. Hear it for yourself in this recording from their second concert at the Beethovenfest 2010. Author: Greg WiserEditor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #25: Strikingly new sounds
Music that bears witness to life by Luigi Nono, rendered ...
Music that bears witness to life by Luigi Nono, rendered by a string quartet that is young, curious and adventurousLuigi Nono (1924-1990) Fragments – Quietude. An Diotima for string quartet (excerpt) Minguet Quartet MP3 recorded at the Beethoven House, Bonn on September 24, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) "All of my works are based on some human incentive: an event, an experience, a text of our life touches my instinct and my conscience and expects from me that I bear witness, both as musician and as human being," the Italian composer Luigi Nono wrote. One of the most important composers of the post-World War II period, Nono provoked numerous cultural-political controversies and scandals due to his political convictions. A half century later, Nono still sounds strikingly new, especially as rendered by the Minguet Quartet. Annette Reisinger, violinist in the quartet, elaborated on the theme of this year's Beethovenfest, "Into the Open," in these words: "Having the courage to step out into the open means being prepared for freedom, being prepared for the good fortune of emptiness, the material from which music is made. Every day, a musician gingerly tries to dismantle human hurdles to reach that pure state of happiness." Author: Suzanne Cords (als) Editor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #24: Notes for an emergency
The internationally acclaimed Minguet String Quartet, named after the Spanish ...
The internationally acclaimed Minguet String Quartet, named after the Spanish philosopher Pablo Minguet, plays Beethoven in the sold-out chamber music hall of the Beethoven House.Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, op. 132, (Galitzin III), 3rd movement Minguet Quartet MP3 recorded at the Beethoven House, Bonn on September 24, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) Ludwig van Beethoven was ill when he composed the third movement of his "Galitzin Quartet III." "My doctor helped me, for I could no longer write notes [Noten: music], but now I write notes which help me out of my need [Noeten]," the composer allegedly punned when he completed the work. The movement heading is fitting: "Molto adagio - A Convalescent's Holy Song of Thanks to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode." Author: Suzanne Cords (als) Editor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #23: Ave Maria
A piece composed with notes in an enigmatic scale, ceremonial ...
A piece composed with notes in an enigmatic scale, ceremonial and solemn, given four voices on strings in this performance.Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901) "Ave Maria" (Scala enigmatica armonizzata a 4 voci miste e sole) from the "Quattro Pezzi Sacri“ (Four Sacred Pieces) Minguet Quartet MP3 recorded at the Beethoven House, Bonn on September 24, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) For over 150 years, Giuseppe Verdi's "Ave Maria" has been played at celebrations and funerals. The Italian composer originally set the song for four-voiced choir and composed it in a "scala enigmatica," a cryptic scale. It is one of the four-part cycle "Quattro Pezzi Sacri" (Four Sacred Pieces). Cologne's Minguet Quartet offers a light, yet powerfully dynamic interpretation of "Ave Maria" at the Beethoven Festival 2010. Author: Suzanne Cords (als) Editor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #22: Quatre Chansons (Four Songs)
Cologne's Minguet Quartet, one of the finest of the younger ...
Cologne's Minguet Quartet, one of the finest of the younger generation, plays 15th century music at the Beethovenfest.Johannes Ockeghem (approx. 1420-1497) Quatre Chansons (Four Songs) Minguet Quartet MP3 recorded at the Beethoven House, Bonn on September 24, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) Johannes Ockeghem was a Flemish composer and cleric. His contemporaries described him as a generous and fair man, and his music was praised and enjoyed universally. The Cologne-based Minguet Quartet is one of the most in-demand younger generation string quartets. It consists of Ulrich Isfort and Annette Reisinger (violins), Aroa Sorin (viola) and Matthias Diener (cello). Educated in Essen and Cologne, the four musicians received important artistic impulses from Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet and from the Amadeus, Melos and Alban Berg Quartets. In acknowledgment of their status, the Arts Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia donated a set of valuable instruments to the Minguet Quartet. Author: Suzanne Cords (gsw) Editor: Rick Fulker
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Beethoven and more podcast #21: An armada of instruments
Performances by percussionists are somewhat of a sporting event: with ...
Performances by percussionists are somewhat of a sporting event: with an armada of instruments, Martin Grubinger & Friends are as interesting to watch as they are to listen to.Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) Pleiades for 6 percussionists: (IV.) Peaux Martin Grubinger (percussion) Leonhard Schmidinger (percussion) Rainer Furthner (percussion) Sabine Pyrker (percussion) Rizumu Sugishita (percussion) Slavik Stakhov (percussion) MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn on September 25, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) The panoply of a multi-percussionist is impressive: in addition to conventional drums, there are all sorts of unusual instruments like bells, whistles, stones and sirens. To watch how often and deftly Martin Grubinger and his fellow percussionists move among their vast array of instruments is an exercise in fascination. The Greek composer Iannis Xenakis was one of the first to extract the percussion section from a symphony orchestra and assign it a role of its own. In "Pleiades," he created a sound both serious and celebratory, as Greek mythology can be, and yet there's something reminiscent of Asian rituals in it - a sound that sets one's teeth on edge, inescapable, louder than at a rock concert, a sound with which the listener's body itself seems to resonate. Autor: Rick Fulker Editor: Louisa Schaefer
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Beethoven and more podcast #20: Surround Sound
Surround sound in real-time with no electrical transformation: Martin Grubinger ...
Surround sound in real-time with no electrical transformation: Martin Grubinger & Friends let their music flow through the Beethoven Hall and give a breathtaking performance.Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) Persephassa for 6 percussionists Martin Grubinger (percussion) Leonhard Schmidinger (percussion) Rainer Furthner (percussion) Sabine Pyrker (percussion) Rizumu Sugishita (percussion) Slavik Stakhov (percussion) MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn on September 25, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) Two percussionists stand at the left and right of the stage, four more stand left and right at the front and back of the hall - literally creating "surround sound." As a result, the best spots in the Beethoven Hall this time around were smack in the center. The first notes of "Persephassa for 6 percussionists" made it clear it would be a breathtaking concert. How could six musicians standing so far apart from each other achieve such an extremely precise, complete sound? An electronic metronome coordinated the whole event, with a click sounding in their ears that told them to speed up or slow the tempo. The programming of the metronome alone was a finely orchestrated feat, and a laborious process, percussionist Martin Grubinger told the audience. Numerous contemporary composers have written music for Grubinger, who was just 27 years old at this Beethoven Festival concert in September 2010. Blessed with a photographic memory, he can normally play without a score in front of him. But when it comes to composer Iannis Xenakis's music, "normal" just doesn't cut it… Author: Rick Fulker Editor: Louisa Schaefer
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Beethoven and more podcast #19: Order and chaos
It's mathematically composed music that's become a cult: Martin Grubinger ...
It's mathematically composed music that's become a cult: Martin Grubinger & Friends play music by Iannis Xenakis before a diverse, wildly enthused audience.Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) Okho for 3 percussionists Martin Grubinger (percussion) Leonhard Schmidinger (percussion) Rainer Furthner (percussion) MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn on September 25, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW) The Beethoven Hall is packed to the gills with people of all different ages. It's rare to see so many pupils and college students at a classical concert - especially with Iannis Xenakis on the program, whose music, written in the 1960s, is not exactly "easy-listening." Xenakis was a composer, architect and mathematician. His extremely complex compositions make clear the strong connection between music and mathematics. Chaos theory informs "Okho for 3 percussionists," in which the beats of the three percussionists sound out together, but then continually separate themselves by nano-seconds, growing ever further apart until they ultimately come back together in unison. Through music, Xenakis demonstrates how order dissolves into chaos. The interaction between periodic and aperiodic sounds is only one aspect of this rational music calculated with mathematical formulas, which paradoxically makes a surprisingly strong emotional, even ecstatic impact. Author: Rick Fulker Editor: Louisa Schaefer
