Though he was baptized on December 17, 1770, today is generally considered to be the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven.
In keeping with this, here is a version of his breakthrough work, the Eroica Symphony, as performed by Frans Brüggen and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century – recorded at a concert in 1988 using instruments and performance practices as close to those of Beethoven’s own times as possible, including especially a much smaller orchestra than you’d normally find today:
For a more “modern” interpretation, using an orchestra more than twice as large, here’s Leonard Bernstein with the Vienna Philharmonic (considered by many to be the best orchestra in the world) from 1978, including some very interesting commentary by Maximilian Schell and Mr Bernstein himself.
Finally here’s a version by BB favorite Jordi Savall and the Concert des Nations – sadly less fun to watch since it’s a studio recording, and posted on YouTube in four parts, though it does feature Delacroix‘s Liberty Leading the People:
Last night I spent some time listening to all three of these versions of the Eroica, and Savall’s was ultimately my favorite. Somehow it hits that sweet spot where the clarity and brashness of historic performance meet the power of the modern orchestra. Whether this is due to getting exactly the right-sized orchestra, consummate musicianship all ’round, the fact that it was recorded in a studio (and less than two years ago, so using much more evolved recording technology), or all three, is anybody’s guess.
Some additional remarks:
Leonard Bernstein was of the opinion that the first two movements of the Eroica are the two greatest pieces of symphonic writing in the entire history of music.
In a seminar I attended once, the composer/teacher/critique-général Wilfrid Mellers told us that one day he was working on something (I forget exactly what…) and a realization just came to him: Shakespeare and Beethoven were the two greatest people who ever lived.
On the other hand, another of my music profs back in the day rated Beethoven as only the third greatest composer of all time, after Mozart and Wagner.
Some of my own thoughts:
First, this music has been played and studied so much as to become an integral part of our culture, so to listen to it is to discover a part of oneself, and this can, and probably should, be done over and over again (and in different versions, hence the multiple posts…).
Second, there’s almost surely more to it than that. Like all great art, this music approaches, even embodies, the realm of the archetypes, so can function as a contact point with that fundamental transcendent reality of which we are all constantly aspiring to become more conscious. This may have something to do with what Thane was getting at when he spoke of Translation and music, as mentioned by Ben below .
Finally, to those who would object that this music is too old to be relevant anymore, I would point out that two hundred years is considerably less than the blink of an eye in the great scheme of things. I also think it more than likely that Beethoven was a highly evolved being – very much ahead of his time, at least in terms of his artistic vision, though perhaps in other aspects too – and that the rest of us are only just beginning to catch up with him. In fact, during his lifetime, several of his later works were considered beyond any human’s capacity to play – though, of course, musicians have worked out to do that since. It might even be argued that the whole panoply of the modern symphony orchestra was developed in an effort to give this music its due – though whether that attempt has been successful is another matter, of way too much complexity and controversy for such a brief post.
For more information:
On the Eroica Symphony: Well, very few pieces of music rate their own websites; the Eroica’s is here .
On Beethoven himself: Yes, he’s got a website too, which one can access by clicking here.