On Beethoven s 250th birth anniversary, a look at the life of Nannette Streicher, the woman who built his pianos At eight, Nannette played in front of Mozart, who criticised her posture and grimacing, but admitted that she had “genius.” Two years later, she had mastered many of her father’s building techniques, earning a reputation as a mechanical wunderkind.
The Morgan Library & Museum owns part of an original sketch of Beethoven’s
Hammerklavier Piano Sonata. In the margin, British publisher Vincent Novello writes that the document was given to him by “Mrs. Streiker” “one of Beethoven’s oldest and most sincere friends.”
The contemporary relevance of Ludwig van Beethoven on the 250th anniversary of his birth
Millions of people around the world continue to enjoy and enthuse over the work of Ludwig van Beethoven on the 250th anniversary of his birth, December 17, 1770. His music long ago broke through the narrow limits of European culture within which he lived and worked. It has emerged as a universal voice of humanity and has struck a chord among the younger generation thanks to the efforts of dedicated musicians.
Beethoven, portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820
What explains the contemporary character of Beethoven’s music? Why does it fascinate people of all ages, far beyond the confines of the classical music community?
We have heard his music in countless movies, operas, pop songs and even Bugs Bunny cartoons, and now we can send a message to say
#HappyBirthdayLudwig on Beethoven s 250th birthday (you can write your own message here that will be stored permanently at the
Beethoven-Haus in Bonn).
The International Beethoven Project ( IBP ) founded by classical musician and composer
George Lepauw is celebrating Beethoven s 250th Birthday as part of a global celebration taking place in countries all over the world. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, however, most of the celebrations will take place virtually. But that also allows you to join in the international festivities. In the United States, you can watch the stream on IBP s Facebook page or on its website. The Birthday Bash streams at 1pm CT in Chicago today, December 17th, in the first video embedded below. (Beethoven was born on December 16th, and baptized December 17th.)
Paul Lewis, Wigmore Hall review – Classical consolations | reviews, news & interviews Paul Lewis, Wigmore Hall review – Classical consolations
Paul Lewis, Wigmore Hall review – Classical consolations
Haydn and Beethoven s Diabelli Variations, putting life in perspective
by Peter QuantrillThursday, 10 December 2020
Paul Lewis at Wigmore HallWigmore Hall f
The key of C minor threw a dark shadow over music long before it became the tonality for Beethoven to express the struggle of one against many in the Fifth Symphony and the Third Piano Concerto.
The key of C minor threw a dark shadow over music long before it became the tonality for Beethoven to express the struggle of one against many in the Fifth Symphony and the Third Piano Concerto. Mozart was a feted teenager and Beethoven a babe in arms when Haydn wrote his C minor Piano Sonata in 1771, 60 years before Schumann began to make his own inner turmoil into music in the wake of Beethoven. Yet through
Last modified on Thu 10 Dec 2020 23.37 EST
Daniel Barenboim spent lockdown earlier this year practising the piano. One of the fruits of that intensive work has been his fifth complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas, together with the Diabelli Variations, which appeared in October. But Barenboim had already begun to revisit Beethoven for this yearâs anniversary 12 months ago, when he performed the piano trios in two concerts in Berlin, with his violinist son Michael and the cellist Kian Soltani, both former members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Whether these new discs are taken directly from those live performances isnât clear, but they were certainly recorded in the same venue, the Pierre Boulez Saal.