I won't watch that movie again, or read the book. I have another novel by James Gunn, called Kampus, which is very similar and a very hard read. I have nothing against deep intricate novels delving into the human condition, but I prefer other topics when it comes to reading for enjoyment.
I'll have to post another Beethoven album tomorrow.
Another area of Beethoven's work worth exploring are the sonatas for violin and piano. I was first drawn to them after reading a short story by Tolstoy (I think - it's been many years) that was named for one of them, the "Kreutzer" sonata. All it takes is one or two listenings and you get to know it well enough to follow its structure and get a feel for where it's going next, which for me is one of the keys to enjoying music, classical or otherwise.
Here's a video of the first movement of the Kreutzer, with the great Nathan Milstein on violin:
After some early slow development, the main theme begins in earnest around 1:32.
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It's great to see more lovers of the Ludwig Van. I recently just saw a few Beethoven concerts during the Chicago Symphony's Beethoven festival this year. One concert had a wonderful performance of 8, and then a great rendition of his fifth which was unfortunately ruined by the second horn player who butchered the piece. My wife and I couldn't believe it, but yes, one player ruined a whole piece
We also got to see them play his Ninth, which was quite amazing. The CSO has the best Trombone section in the world, and there was a section in the final movement where the Tbones play with the chorus and the strings, and the balance and intonation was so perfect it brought tears to my eyes. Unbelievable!
I'm very impressed with your guys' links to some great stuff. I really do need to pick up some good recordings of more violin stuff, as I already have stellar recordings of his piano works and the symphonies. Any suggestions?
BTW I have two sets of Beethoven symphonies, one with Sir Simon Rattle and Vienna which is amazing, but my all time favorite is my precious Karajan and Berlin recordings, which are perfect in every sense.
Cheers!
It's great to see more lovers of the Ludwig Van. I recently just saw a few Beethoven concerts during the Chicago Symphony's Beethoven festival this year. One concert had a wonderful performance of 8, and then a great rendition of his fifth which was unfortunately ruined by the second horn player who butchered the piece. My wife and I couldn't believe it, but yes, one player ruined a whole piece
We also got to see them play his Ninth, which was quite amazing. The CSO has the best Trombone section in the world, and there was a section in the final movement where the Tbones play with the chorus and the strings, and the balance and intonation was so perfect it brought tears to my eyes. Unbelievable!
I'm very impressed with your guys' links to some great stuff. I really do need to pick up some good recordings of more violin stuff, as I already have stellar recordings of his piano works and the symphonies. Any suggestions?
BTW I have two sets of Beethoven symphonies, one with Sir Simon Rattle and Vienna which is amazing, but my all time favorite is my precious Karajan and Berlin recordings, which are perfect in every sense.
Cheers!
My very favorite recording of the 9th, bar-none, is the CSO under Solti, recorded at the Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the U of I in Urbana. It has the best combination of performance and sound quality of any I've ever heard (and I own about 10 different ones). Fortunately it's usually available these days as a budget release.
When I was living in Champaign 20 years ago, give or take, we were planning to go see them when they were in town, which they were on occasion, but that year was the big musicians' strike and the concert was canceled.
The Great Hall is a tremendous place to hear classical music. The acoustics are fabulous, and there's no proscenium, so you feel like you're in the same room as the musicians on stage. We saw Perlman there, and Parkening, and a bunch of others, including regular subscription concerts by U of I faculty member Ian Hobson and his Sinfonia da Camera.
__________________ Hire an architect - an ego is a terrible thing to waste
I'm very impressed with your guys' links to some great stuff. I really do need to pick up some good recordings of more violin stuff, as I already have stellar recordings of his piano works and the symphonies. Any suggestions?
BTW I have two sets of Beethoven symphonies, one with Sir Simon Rattle and Vienna which is amazing, but my all time favorite is my precious Karajan and Berlin recordings, which are perfect in every sense.
Cheers!
I have three sets of his Symphonies myself Kuaizi.
I am not sure if you like Quartets, but I have the Guarneri complete set and I think they are very good. I have all of his Violin Sonatas as well, but haven't played them enough to offer a recommendation yet.
The complete quartets by the Guarneri would be fabulous, LG. My only copy is a budget release, and I don't even remember the name of the ensemble (I'm not at home to look it up). I seriously need to delve into those sometime soon. Everyone talks about how they're some of the greatest works of art in the western world, particularly in the case of the late quartets.
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LG - I have Alfred Brendel on a cassette tape that's now almost unplayable. This Youtube version is excellent, I think I'll have to invest in a CD version.
This video gives me hope for the future. It also makes me want to have kids. lol Not only does this lil guy look like he is enjoying himself, he actually knows it!! I love it at the end when he says, "this is my favorite part!" and proceeds to go nuts hehe
Re: Ludwig van Beethoven 
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