I. Heroic Symphony
Beethoven's heart was full of the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, and he was an ardent supporter of the French bourgeois revolution of 1789. 1798, when General Bernadotte (1763-1844) became the French ambassador to Vienna, Beethoven often went to his home and had close dealings with those around him. In 1802, at the suggestion of General Bernadotte, Beethoven began to write his Third Symphony, dedicated to Napoleon. In his mind, Napoleon was a hero who destroyed tyranny and realized his ideals. 1804, Beethoven completed his Third Symphony. Just as he was about to dedicate it to Napoleon, news of Napoleon's claim to the throne reached Vienna.
When Beethoven learned of the news from his student Lis (1784-1838), he roared in anger: "He is no more than a mere mortal. Now he too will trample on human rights in order to fulfill his personal ambitions. He will ride on the heads of all and become a tyrant!" With that, he went to the table, tore the dedication to Napoleon to pieces, and threw it on the floor, forbidding anyone to pick it up. It took many days for Beethoven's anger to subside and he allowed the work to be released to the public, and in December 1804 the symphony was first performed in Vienna at the court of Prince Lobkowitz, and in April 1805 at the Vienna Theater, where Beethoven conducted the first public performance, with a program that reads: "A new grand symphony in ascending D major, conducted by Ludwig. D major, by Herr Ludwig van Beethoven, dedicated to His Royal Highness Prince Lobkowitz." Strangely, Beethoven does not say E flat major, but rather D sharp major, and when the general score was published in October 1806, the title page bore the words, The Heroic Symphony in Honor of a Great Man. Since then, the Third Symphony has been known as the "Heroic Symphony".
Two, destiny symphony
Beethoven's Symphony in C minor (Op. 67) begins with four notes, strong and heavy, as if the sound of fate knocking on the door. This work is therefore called the Symphony of Fate. The Symphony of Fate was composed between 1805 and 1808. Beethoven, in a letter to his friend Wegler (1765-1848) in November 1808, had already said, "I will jam fate's throat, and it will never be able to overwhelm me completely!" The "voice of fate knocking at the door" had already appeared in the third movement of the Piano Sonata in C minor (Op. 10, No. 1), written in 1798, and later in the third movement of the String Quartet in D major (Op. 18, No. 3), the first movement of the Passionata (Op. 57), the Overture to Leonora No. 3 (Op. 72), the Overture to the Lenora (Op. 73), the Overture to the Lenore (Op. 74), and the Overture to the Lenore (Op. 75), all of which are in the same vein as the first movement. Op. 72), String Quartet in E-flat Major (Op. 74) and a series of other works. It can be seen that overcoming fate through struggle is Beethoven's consistent creative thought. Symphony of Fate" shows the enthusiasm of struggle in full swing, with a strong infectious force. Spanish female bass singer Mari Bran first listened to the "Symphony of Fate", scared to death, had to leave the table and go. Napoleon an old guard, listening to the opening theme of the fourth movement, could not help jumping up and shouting, "This is the Emperor!" Berlioz saw the thrilling scenes of struggle in the Symphony of Fate as "Othello's terrible fury when he listened to Egou's slander and mistook Desdemona for an illicit affair." According to Schumann, "Though you hear this symphony from time to time, it always has a constant power over you - just as the phenomena of nature, though they occur from time to time, always teach one to be frightened." In May and June of 1830, Mendelssohn stayed in Weimar for two weeks for a final meeting with Goethe, playing for him at the piano famous works of the past and present. Goethe was thrilled by the first movement of the Symphony of Fate and said, "It is so magnificent and thrilling that it would shake the house down. One wonders what would have happened if many people had played it together." In March 1841, Engels heard a performance of the Symphony of Fate. He praised the work in a letter to his sister, saying, "If you do not know this marvelous thing, then you have heard nothing in your life, if anything." In the first movement, he said, he heard "that utter despair of grief, that anguish of sorrow"; in the second, "that tender melancholy of love"; and in the third and fourth, "the powerful, youthful expression of the trumpet, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young, the young. In the third and fourth movements, "the powerful, youthful, free joy expressed by the trumpet" is so inspiring. In just a few words, Engels revealed the essence of the Symphony of Fate.
Third, the legend of "Moonlight Song"
"More than a hundred years ago, there was a German musician named Beethoven who composed many famous songs. One of them is a famous piano piece called "Moonlight Piece", which is said to have been composed in this way: one fall, Beethoven traveled around the world for performances, and came to a small town on the Rhine River. One night, he was walking along a quiet road when he heard the intermittent sound of a piano coming out of a hut, playing his piece. As Beethoven approached the cottage, the sound of the piano suddenly stopped, and there was a conversation in the room. A girl said, 'How difficult this piece is to play! I have only heard others play it a few times, but I can never remember how to play it; how wonderful it would be to hear how Beethoven himself played it! A man said, 'Yes, but concert tickets are too expensive, and we are too poor.' The girl said, 'Don't be sad, brother, I'm just talking.' Hearing this, Beethoven pushed open the door and gently went in. There was a candle lit in the hut, and in the faint candlelight the man was making leather shoes. There was an old piano in front of the window, and in front of it sat a girl of sixteen or seventeen years of age, with a very clear face, but blind. The cobbler saw a stranger come in, stood up and asked, 'Who are you looking for, sir? You've come to the wrong door, haven't you?' Beethoven said, 'No, I have come to play a piece for the girl.' The girl quickly stood up and gave up her seat. Beethoven sat down at the piano and played the piece the blind girl had just played. The blind girl was mesmerized, and when the piece was finished, she said excitedly, 'How purely well played it is! How deep is the feeling! You, you are Mr. Beethoven, aren't you?' Beethoven did not answer, he asked the blind girl: 'Do you like it? I'll play you another one.' A gust of wind blew out the candle. The moonlight shone through the window, and everything in the cottage seemed to be covered with a silver veil. Beethoven looked at the poor brother and sister standing beside him, and by the light of the moon, pressed the keys of the piano. The cobbler listened quietly, as if he was facing the sea, the moon was rising from the water and sky, the shimmering sea, sprinkled with silver light. The moon rose higher and higher, passing through wisps and wisps of gauzy clouds. Suddenly, the wind blew on the sea, rolled up a huge wave, was lit by the moonlight snow bright waves, one after another towards the shore to surge ...... cobbler look at his sister, the moonlight is shining on her serene face, shining her wide open eyes. It was as if she, too, saw, saw a sight she had never seen before, the rough sea under the moonlight. The siblings were mesmerized by the wonderful sound of the piano. By the time they awoke, Beethoven had long since left the cottage. He flew back to the inn and spent the night recording the 'Moonlight Song' he had just improvised." This is an article in the seventh book of our elementary school language textbook, which tells the story of Beethoven's playing of "Moonlight Pieces" for a blind girl. It is indeed a beautiful legend. The idea that this piece by Beethoven (Op. 27 No. 2 - Piano Sonata in #c minor) depicts moonlight on the sea originated with the German music critic Reilstab (1799-1860). The Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894) was very much opposed to the interpretation of the piece in terms of "moonlight". He said: "Moonlight in a musical description should be nocturnal, contemplative, quiet, in a word, a soft and bright mood. The first movement of the Sonata in #c minor, from the first note to the last, is entirely tragic (implied by the minor key), a cloud-covered sky, a somber mood. The final movement is furious and passionate, expressing exactly the opposite of the gentle bright moon. Only the short second movement can be described as a moment of moonlight." In Germany, it is also called the "Pavilion" Sonata. A garden pavilion is a gazebo built in the shade of a tree, and it is clear that this title is equally inaccurate for this sonata. It seems that the piece is not a clear landscape, but rather a mood of inner gloom. Thiele (1817-1897), the author of Beethoven's biography, describes the first movement as a "maiden's prayer for her sick father", which is in any case more appropriate than "Moonlight" and "Garden Pavilion". which are in any case more appropriate than "Moonlight" and "Garden Pavilion. Beethoven composed this piece in 1801, when he was in love with Giulifatta Guicciardi (1784-1856), to whom it was dedicated. Beethoven's letter to Wegler of November 16 of that year mentions her with the words, "She loves me and I love her." But by early 1802 she had fallen in love with Count Robert Harrenhal in addition, and married him in 1803. Romain Rolland linked this piece to Beethoven's lost love, saying "The illusion was not long maintained, and the sonata already contains more pain and grief than love." Roland interpreted the first movement as melancholy, lamentation, and bitter weeping. The Russian musicologist Olbyshev (1794-1858) considered the first movement to be the "bitter sorrow" of a lost love, like a "dying fire". But in 1801, when Beethoven and Guicciardi were in love, it may not be true to say that the work is about the pain of lost love. Perhaps the Russian art critic Stasov (1824-1906) had a more plausible interpretation of the work. After recalling hearing Liszt play it in Petersburg, he considered the sonata a complete tragedy, the first movement being all-night long of tenderness and sometimes gloomy forebodings of a state of mind. He had a similar impression when listening to Anton Rubinstein: "...... From far, far away, as if from the depths of an unseen soul, suddenly rise the voices of silence. Some voices are melancholic, full of infinite sadness; others are contemplative, a flood of memories, dark omens ......" The Sonata in #c minor is particularly famous for its title and the legend "Moonlight". Beethoven once said: "People often talk about the Sonata in #c minor, but I have written better things than this, like the Sonata in #F major (Op. 78) is an example." It is clear that Beethoven himself was not very satisfied with the Moonlight Song.
Four, Passionate Sonatas
Hindler once asked Beethoven about the contents of the Sonata in D Minor (Op. 31, No. 2) and the Sonata in F Minor (Op. 57), to which Beethoven replied, "Read Shakespeare's The Tempest." Thus the former became known as the Tempest Sonata, while the latter had the title of the Passion Sonata added to it by the Hamburg sheet music publisher Kranz (1789-1870). (The other claim, that the title "Passion" was added by the German pianist, violinist, composer and conductor Reinecke (1824-1910), seems to be unfounded.) The title "Passion" was not approved by Beethoven, but it is quite appropriate for this heroic and majestic work. Lenin, the mentor of the proletarian revolution, once heard the Russian composer and conductor Dobrowen (1894-1953) play the sonata in Moscow and said, "I don't know anything better than the 'Passion Sonata,' and I would listen to it every day. It is marvelous, unprecedented music. I always think with perhaps childish boastfulness: what wonders people are capable of!" On October 30, 1870, Paris had been surrounded by Prussian troops for more than three months during the Franco-Prussian War. In the base camp of King Wilhelm of Prussia in Versailles, the iron Chancellor Bismarck was negotiating the terms of an armistice with Thiers, the head of the French bourgeoisie. On this evening, Gerdel, who had been the German ambassador to Italy, played the "Passion Sonata" for Bismarck on a battered piano in Versailles. Bismarck listened to the last movement and said, "This is the howl of a whole generation's struggle." He understood Beethoven's "passion" from the standpoint of a bloodthirsty ambitious man. He once said, "If I could only listen to this piece more often, my courage would not dry up," because "Beethoven is best suited to my nerves." Beethoven said on June 29, 1801, "My art is used to improve the lot of poor people." If Beethoven had known that his music was utilized by Bismarck, he would have died all night long
Fifth, the beat machine-friendship-Canon
Beethoven's friend, Melzel (1772-1838), was known for inventing and building mechanical instruments. in the fall of 1813, Beethoven wrote a war symphony for the Universal Orchestra, a mechanical orchestra that Melzel had invented. Beethoven wrote a war symphony for the universal organ (i.e., a mechanical orchestra) invented by Meltzer, entitled Wellington's Victory or The Battle of Vitoria, which depicts the great defeat of Napoleon by the British general Wellington in the northern Spanish city of Vitoria on June 21 of the same year. Meltzer had created the clapper that is common today, based on an invention by Winkel (1776-1826). Beethoven was the first to adopt it, and marked the tempo of his work by the number of beats it struck per minute. Beethoven's hearing aid, too, was made for him by Meltzer around 1810. On one occasion, while sending Meltzer on a trip, Beethoven wrote a sardonic canon in praise of the creator of the metronome. The canon, which symbolized the friendship between Beethoven and Meltzer, was later chosen by Beethoven for his Eighth Symphony (Op. 93) as the theme of the second movement.
VI. Symphony No. 7 on the Ballet Stage
Wagner called Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 (Op. 92) "the ultimate in dance," "the highest form of dance," and " the most marvelous embodiment of physical movement according to an ideal form". He is said to have envisioned a dance performance of the Seventh Symphony accompanied by Liszt's piano. Wagner's vision was later realized by the Russian choreographer Marcin, who in 1938 choreographed the symphony as a ballet to represent an allegorical storyline - the creation and destruction of the world: the first movement: Creation - in which the spirit of creation is guided by the spirit of creation, the chaotic world is transformed into an orderly abode for plants and animals. Man and woman appear, as well as the dangerous serpent. Second Movement: Earth - Hatred and rape appeared on the Earth. A group of men and women mourn a murdered teenager. Movement 3: Sky - The gods and goddesses in the sky are indifferent to the turmoil on the earth and still rejoice. Movement 4: Drinking and Destruction - People indulge in drinking and sex. When the gods see their bad imitation of the pleasures of the upper world, they destroy the world with fire in anger. In May 1938, the first performance of this piece was given by Basil's Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
VII. Ode to Joy and Choral Symphony
In January 1793, Fischernich, a friend of German poet Schiller and professor of law at the University of Bonn, wrote to Schiller's wife, Charlotte, saying, "There is a young man ...... who has the great and noble ambition of composing one verse by verse of Schiller's Ode to Joy. Ode to Joy to music verse by verse." This youth was Beethoven, who was living in Bonn at the time and was only 23 years old. Beethoven had drafted the music for the Ode to Joy in both 1798 and 1812. The theme from the Ode to Joy, written in 1812, was later used in the Overture to the Nameday Festival in C major (Op. 115), which was completed in October 1814. Beethoven's song "Mutual Love", composed around 1795 for Bilger's poem, and the theme of "Ode to Joy" in the last movement of the Choral Symphony are closely related tonally, and can be regarded as the predecessor of the theme of "Ode to Joy". Beethoven later borrowed this tune as the theme for Kuffner's poem celebrating the charms of music in his Choral Fantasy for Piano in C minor (Op. 80) of 1808. The choral part of the Choral Fantasy for Piano was an attempt to write the finale of the Choral Symphony, which Beethoven wrote to Probst in March 1824: "The finale of the Choral Symphony is written in the style of the Choral Fantasy for Piano, but on a far grander scale." This shows that Beethoven's intention to compose the Ode to Joy was pondered for 30 years, starting in 1793, before it was finally realized in the Choral Symphony. The Choral Symphony was composed during the reactionary period when all free thinking and democratic movements were brutally suppressed after the Carlsbad Resolution, and when it was first performed in May 1824 at the Kreutnacht Theater in Vienna, the audience's response was unprecedentedly enthusiastic. When Beethoven appeared, he was applauded and cheered five times by the audience, so much so that the police had to intervene. But standing in the orchestra with his back to the audience, Beethoven could not hear anything, but fortunately, the baritone singer Unger held his hand and turned around, only to "see" the audience's cheers. From the extraordinary emotions aroused by the first performance, it is clear that singing for joy, that is to say, singing for freedom, had such a deep relevance at that time.
Beethoven
--The Great People's Musician
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the last and greatest representative of the Viennese school of music. Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770, in Bonn, a small city on the Rhine not far from the French border. His father was a male high chamber singer in a court orchestra and his mother was a cook. His grandfather was the head musician of the Bonn court orchestra.
Beethoven's musical genius was already apparent from an early age. His father recognized his son's musical talent early on, and in his eagerness to train him to become a prodigy like Mozart, he began to force him to learn the piano and violin at the age of four, and by the age of eight, he had already begun to perform in concerts and try his hand at composing music, but the musical education he received during this period was very sporadic and unsystematic. Beethoven dropped out of school at the age of eleven to concentrate on studying music at home. By the age of twelve he was already comfortable playing and was working as an assistant to the organist Niefer (1748-1798). By the age of thirteen Beethoven had been employed as a harpsichordist at the Bonn Theater and was officially a professional musician. It was at this time that he began his formal musical studies with Niefer. A musician of many talents, Niefer broadened Beethoven's artistic horizons, familiarized him with some of the finest examples of German classical art, and solidified Beethoven's understanding of a noble purpose. Beethoven's formal studies and systematic upbringing actually began under the careful tutelage and nurturing of Niefer: Niefer also guided him to Vienna in 1787 to study with Mozart. After hearing him play, Mozart predicted that Beethoven would one day shake the world.
Beethoven's compositions are broad in conception, grand in imagery, deep in feeling, and stark in contrast, which led him to favor the use and expansion of sonata form; at the same time, due to the richness and diversity of the images he created, the sonata form used in each work has its own characteristics. Beethoven's other orchestral works include the Violin Concerto, five Piano Concertos, two Overtures, Fantasia for Piano Orchestra and Chorus, and two Waves for Violin and Orchestra. Although the three famous composers of the Viennese Classical School lived in fairly close proximity to each other, Beethoven's ideas clearly did not belong to the same era as those of Haydn and Mozart. Haydn was humiliated throughout his life, and although he was occasionally outraged, he was always resigned to the fact that he was seldom excited by the progressive literary trends and revolutionary sentiments of the time, and his music was permanently insulated from the struggle. Mozart suffered no less than Haydn; he was brave enough to resist, and preferred poverty to the insults of the archbishop, but in his music, behind the joy of sunshine and youthful vigor, there is often a feeling of pain, melancholy and sadness. Only Beethoven, who not only raged against the tyranny of the feudal system, but also used his music to call people to fight for freedom and happiness.
Beethoven is one of the world's great composers in the history of art, and his creations reflect his titanic character, reflecting the progressive ideology of the era, and its revolutionary heroism can be summarized in the image of "through suffering - to joy; through struggle - to victory". His works are both magnificent and grandiose, but also very simple and distinctive, and its music is both rich in content, but also easy for the audience to understand and accept.
Beethoven's music reflects the pain and joy, the struggle and the victory of the people. That is why its music has always motivated and inspired people, and still makes people feel close and inspired until now.
His nine symphonies occupy an extremely unique position in his entire oeuvre. These symphonies can be compared to a full-scale symphonic narrative - a long epic of heroic life. Although there is no storyline to connect them, it reveals all aspects of the hero's life, activities and thoughts, i.e. some of the most important life issues facing the hero, such as: the hero and his struggles, the hero and nature, the hero and his inner world, the hero and the people and so on. His nine symphonies are among the most important part of the world cultural heritage.