Part 11 (2/2)
and the usual cadence in the doio chords for the trombones, interpolated between the Exposition and the Developious element in the play that is to follow The Development is remarkable for the spirited imitative treatment of the first theme, for the bold way in which the voices cut into each other and for the fusion of its closing measures with the Recapitulation The chief feature in this brilliant passage is a piling up of the theme in stretto form (see measures 148-153)
The Recapitulation is somewhat shortened and the ed; otherwise it corresponds with the Exposition After the closing phrase we have so_
[Music]
Rossini, it is said, was never tired of eulogizing this Overture and certainly for spontaneity and vigor it is unrivalled[130]
[Footnote 129: For a complete account of this development see Grove's Dict Vol III under _Overture_ and the Oxford History, Vol IV, page 286, _seq_]
[Footnote 130: Its companion in modern literature is the Overture to the _Bartered Bride_ (by the Boheal treatment of the theio in B minor_ (see Supplement No 43) an independent piece, far too little known, in co pathos in the theme, the exquisite loveliness in the whole fabric instantly reach the hearer's heart
analytical comment seems quite unnecessary; a child can ”follow” the in to fathoes as the following, _eg_
[Music]
[Footnote 131: For so comments on this subtle character of Mozart's creations see the Stanford-Forsyth History of Music, p
254]
Tchaikowsky's love for Mozart's music is readily understood Indeed, we cannot refrain fro everyone to cultivate such a love himself; for in the works of Mozart are found a purity, a sanity and a delight in creation which keep thes of beauty and a joy forever”
CHAPTER XI
BEETHOVEN, THE TONE-POET
As Beethoven was such an intensely subjective coe of his personality and environment is indispensable for a complete appreciation of his works[132]
[Footnote 132: Hence is given a raphical account than in the case of for van (1770-1827), born at Bonn on the Rhine, though his active career is associated with Vienna, may be called the first thinker in ht into correlation withreflex of the tendencies and activities of the period Notwithstanding the prodigious vitality of Bach's work, we feel that his musical sense operated abstractly like a law of Nature and that he was an unconscious eious sentiment of his time and of the sturdy independence of his race At any period and in any place Bach would have been Bach Beethoven's music, however, in its intense personality and as a vivid expression of the ideals of his fellow men, was different from any the world had heard before There were three paraes in his equip character who only happened to find in music his most suitable means of self-expression The full inized, great creative artist that he was, as first and foremost a unique personality Had he not written a note of music we should have sufficient historical evidence to assure ourselves of the vigor of his intellect and the elevation of his ideals Whereas Haydn and Mozart are to be judged purely asthe iance Further the mechanical structure of instrumental music carefully formulated by his predecessors The stone had been quarried, the rough cutting done and the blocks lay ready for a genius to use in the erection of his own poetically conceived edifice And these fororous; they had not yet hardened into formalism In Beethoven's works we rarely find form employed for its own sake, as a mere ”tour de force” of skilful workmanshi+p, rather is it made to adapt itself to the individual needs of the composer Finally Beethoven's career coincided with es and upheavals in the social, political and artistic world He is the embodiment of that spirit of individualism, of human freedom and self-respect which found its expression in the French Revolution, in our American War of Independence and in the entire alteration of social standards
Beethoven at all costs resolved to be himself With him music ceases to be aso enuity These personal tendencies of Beethoven were fostered by the spirit of the times, and his ainst existing conditions and of passionate aspiration towards so better He was the firstinfluence of having to write exclusively for aristocratic patronage Such was the social emancipation of the period that he could address hierly receptive and constantly growing His representative works could never have been coh in forno reckless iconoclast--in individual content they reveal a freedom of utterance which took its rise in tendencies hitherto unknown Beethoven'sinfluence can not be stated in a few for his life and tih appreciation of his ain individually Since Beethoven's works compel a man to think for himself, the constructive power of the creator ous activity on the part of the receptive hearer The syly contrived works ofpower to quicken and exalt the soul which will subreat instrumental compositions are few in number in comparison with the voluminous and uneven output of his predecessors
Thus from Haydn we have 125 symphonies, from Mozart about 40, from Beethoven 9 Of Haydn's symphonies possibly a half dozen have permanent vitality; of Mozart's four; of Beethoven's all, with the possible exception of the experimental first Condensation of subject matter, conciseness of style, a ceaseless exaltation of quality above quantity are the prominent features in Beethoven's work All adipose tissue is relentlessly excised, and the finished creation rese in perfect physical condition--the outward anism subservient to the spirit within
Beethoven's life is of supreme interest and importance, for his music is the direct expression of himself, of his joys and sorrows His ancestry raisesquestions as to the influence of heredity and the sources of genius In the first place Beethoven was not a pure-blooded German, but partly Flerandfather, Ludwig van[133] Beethoven, was acharacter and of a certain hborhood of Antwerp to Bonn where he served as court randmother early developed a passion for drink and ended her days confined in a convent The son of this couple, Johann (the father of the coer in the court chapel at Bonn and soon became a confirrandfather and grandson In 1767 he, Maria Keverich, a woman of warm affections and depth of sentiifted son The tender love between Beethoven and his ht spot in his early years, in many ways so sordid and unhappy Unfortunately she was delicate, of consu was but seventeen ”She has been tomother,” he writes, ”and my best friend” As we ponder on such facts and then consider for what Beethoven stands, we can only exclaim, ”God works in a mysterious way, his wonders to perfor Beethoven had unusual ability, and so the shi+ftless father, with the example of Mozart's precocity before hiery in the way of harpsichord and violin practice He had one good teacher however, Neefe, who records that the boy of thirteen played the harpsichord with energetic skill and had ues of the Well-Telected, and when he was thirteen practically ceased These deficiencies were a source of mortification all his life He spelled atrociously, was never sure of his addition and subtraction and so was often involved in altercations with landlords and washerwoer intellect He beca facility in Latin, French, Italian and English The first period of his life ends with his departure in 1792 for Vienna, whither he was sent by the Elector to study with Haydn In su up its special incidents we are struck first by the vivid and lasting iin and deficiencies in education and cultivation, made upon wealthy and refined people of distinction, sih his extraordinary personality and unmistakable sincerity Two of these friends were the von Breuning fahter Eleanore--one of Beethoven's early loves--and the cultivated and influential Count Waldstein, in whose companionshi+p he became acquainted with the German poets and with the dramas of Shakespeare For a vivid picture of these boyish years the student is recommended to the Roh somewhat idealized, is mainly on a historical basis Two of Beethoven's most unique characteristics date fro inspiration directly from Nature, of which he was a passionate and persistent lover He says of himself ”No one can love the country as I love it Here alone can I learn wisdo walks through wood and field he would allow his thoughts to ger himself up utterly to creative e used to say that he was in his ”raptus” Consequently, in comparison with the works of previous composers, which often have a note of primness and artificial restraint--they smell a bit of the lamp and the study--those of Beethoven have the eleor and variety of the rhythm Second, he would always carry sketch books in which to jot down ideas as they came to him These he would polish and improve--sometimes for years--before they took final shape Many of these sketch books[134]
have been preserved and edited, and they illustrate, : slow, cautious, but invincible in its final effect; an idea frequently being altered as e of twenty-two he was chiefly known as a pianist onderful facility in inificant The next eight years--up to 1800, when Beethoven was thirty--were spent in acquainting hi up a public clientele Then follows the marvellous period until 1815 in which his power of inspiration was at its height, and which gave to the world a body of work for nitude and variety never surpassed: all the symphonies except the Ninth, the first twenty-seven pianoforte Sonatas, five concertos for pianoforte and orchestra, the opera of Fidelio, several Overtures, nu quartets and ensemble chamber music We realize even more vividly the heroic and sublime character of Beethoven e learn that, as early as 1798, there began the signs of that deafness which altered his whole life By nature he was hypersensitive, proud and high-strung, and these qualities were so aggravated by his malady that he became suspicious, at times morose, and his subsequent career was checkered with the violent altercations, and equally spasmodic renewals of friendshi+p, which took place between hie was extraordinary Thus we find hih at times I shall be the rapple with Fate, it shall never pull me down” On the artistic side this affliction had its compensations in that it isolated the composer from outer distractions, and allowed him to lay entire stress on the spiritual inner side of his art; certainly this is one of the strongest notes in his music--the pure fancy manifested therein As a deaf musician he is comparable to the blind seer who penetrates more deeply into the ht is perfect Beethoven's closing years form a period of race nephew, by his settled deafness and precarious financial position Yet he gri of titanic dimensions such as the Choral symphony, the Mass in D and the last Quartets and Pianoforte Sonatas Beethoven died on March 26, 1827; natureto the event by a terrific stor and thunder It would take too long to dwell on the many characteristics of the man Beethoven Power, individuality and sincerity were stamped upon him, and his music is just e should expect fros, the joys and sorrows of hu utterance that the world has listened ever since
[Footnote 133: The prefix van is not a symbol of nobility]
[Footnote 134: See the two _Beethoveniana_ by Nottebohm]
To touch now upon a few of the formal aspects of Beethoven's work, as far as verbal analysis can help, it ed ue, and in his hands this form, and also the Air with Variations, were raised to a potency the influence of which is felt even to-day Fro to end every portion of the Sonata Form was made over and vitalized Instead of the perfunctory ”flourish of trumpets” which served previous composers for an introduction, this portion with Beethoven deftly leads on the hearer to a contemplation of the reat Cathedral
For exaenerated in the introductions to the Second and Seventh Symphonies, the breathless suspense of the introduction to the Fourth, and the pri of the Ninth And then what a difference in the character and eestiveness of the themes, that with Beethoven are actual human voices, draotten As Lavoix says of the Fifth Symphony, ”Is not this a draer the attribute of a theatrical work, but the expression of our own individual feelings?” No longer are the transitions mere mechanical connections, but a portion of the structure which, though subsidiary, is yet organically developed from that which precedes and inevitably related to that which follows In the development section we find the real Beethoven Here his marvellous freshness of invention found full play