Category: Music

Beethoven at Play: an Antidote to Gloom

Musical frolics, 1800’s Style

One resource to dispel the gloom that may descend upon us during such perilous times is music, particularly of the bright and sprightly kind. Those unacquainted with the whole body of Beethoven’s work may not know how much fun a lot of it is.  There follow here three examples of Beethoven at his most lighthearted.

 I.  This is one I introduced in an earlier post, but it bears repeating, particularly because you cannot watch the pianist (Valentina Lisitsa) without feeling tempted to bounce around yourself.  From the piano sonata Opus 10 Number 3:

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II.  In contrast to the first example above from early in Beethoven’s career, this next is a movement belonging to the great string quartet Number 14 in C-sharp Minor, composed when Beethoven was already deaf and had but a year to live.  Much of this piece has tragic undercurrents, but this is five sparkling minutes punctuated with musical jokes.  Watch from 25:05 to 30:13 for the fun part. Warning: if you opt to watch from the beginning you are in for a magical mystery tour.

(The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.)

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Is She Too Tough? Amy Klobuchar Takes Heat

Klobuchar staffers cry Bad Boss

Presidential Democratic candidate Amy Klobuchar got sandbagged last week by Klobuchar staffers who were characterized as “terrified aides” likening her to no less a petty tyrant than Donald Trump.  Reports of her abusiveness headlined in Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post, followed up by a piece in Vanity Fair by Tina Nguyen  (February 8).  Nguyen’s coverage fortunately came around  to positive comments by Klobuchar supporters (yes, current and former aides! with skins, we are made to think, are like a rhinoceros!).

Last week, NPR’s night anchor Mary Louise Kelly was interviewing a politics specialist regarding Klobuchar, who had at the time not yet declared as a candidate for President.  The guest journalist mentioned the knock against Klobuchar’s alleged bitchiness, at which Mary Louise observed that the same kind of criticism would rarely be leveled at a male candidate for office.* The reporter (a woman whose name I don’t recall) hesitated for a moment and then said, in the tone of someone being thrown slightly off her game, something like “yeah, you  have a point.”

Mary Louise Kelly’s suggestion of a double standard being applied to Senator Klobuchar does not excuse Klobuchar’s behavior if she was/is in fact, cruelly abusive. Of course I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but I do know that many admired and inspiring leaders do not and have not suffered fools gladly. I also know that there are other staffers who have come to Klobuchar’s defense. I know that on the Rachel Maddow show a few days ago Klobuchar admitted to losing her temper on occasion, with her usual matter-of-fact tone, sans defensiveness. (She made a similar admission to George Stephanapoulos on live TV.)

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Beethoven again: thunder and more

An antidote to the frenzies of our time –

Now that the thunder of the 2018 election has subsided into rumbles, let’s give the timeless thunder of great piano music a listen, in particular Ludwig van Beethoven’s third movement of the “Appassionata” sonata.

Those familiar with this sonata may argue that the first movement is the more distinctive, and is also more structurally coherent—despite its swings between ominous shadows and brilliant arcs, still a stable edifice.  The third is—well, the “structure” is a vehicle racing along a precipice in an earthquake, jolted and swayed and flown and flung and repeatedly braked and accelerated under a sky of swirling rainbows sucked from an alien planet.

The sonata itself to come in a minute, but first an aside on Beethoven’s most devoted fan, the “Peanuts” character Schroeder, and Schroeder’s creator, Charles Schulz.  Unbeknownst to me until I read the piece on Schulz and Schroeder by April Dembrosky in the New York Times, Schulz also had “a weakness for country western.”* I was also unaware that Beethoven’s food of choice was macaroni and cheese.** ( Read about it here.

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Musical Balm 2: Jazzy Flavors from Bossenbroek

Here’s another post where some music may soothe a fractious state of mind.

These two Elijah Bossenbroek pieces are different enough in mood and style from his more typical”modern classical” compositions that they may surprise you (unless you have been investigating his work following my earlier post, Pianistic Thunder [etc].*)

Both are short (3:18 and 4:28). Enjoy!

“Spinning Nowhere” has a distinctly jazzy feel; definitely not “modern classical.”

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Musical Balm 1: Where Light Still Shines

Best escape from the furor: music to lighten the soul

The last two news weeks have been saddening, maddening, frightening, sobering, and frustrating for those of a politically liberal or civil rights bent, or those simply with an inclination toward common decency.

After hearing of the Anthony Kennedy resignation from the Supreme Court, and hearing the reliably hypocritical Mitch McConnell promise to get Kennedy’s replacement installed before the November elections, I found myself bristling—all the more so to hear Democrats speaking at odds with each other.

I really needed an escape.  You too?

It then occurred to me how to calm the bristling mid-brain: music of a light, sunny, or soothing sort. But I wanted to add a twist to my customary Pandora stations, and found two in particular, the first thanks to NPR and the second thanks to my recollection of the most sunny of Beethoven’s sonatas. . . .

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The Best of Elijah Bossenbroek, Continued

“A Song of Simplicity” : A four-minute delight

Those of you who got turned on to Elijah Bossenbroek by my previous post, “Pianistic Thunder [etc.]”* may have already come across this sweet little piece on your own.  In case you missed it, here is, as played by Roberta lovepiano69 . . .

If Bossenbroek’s “I Give Up” is a Niagara of epic strain, this tune is more a clear, slender brook cascading down gentle waterfalls in a sun-dappled forest.

(OK, OK, I’m so badly smitten I am impelled to gush.)

If Bossenbroek had composed no more than these two pieces, he’s already deserved worldwide applause. IMHO.

For those of you have not tired of versions of “I Give Up,” here’s an interesting take by a pianist who is not as skilled as the rest, but perhaps because of it often puts the melody in the foreground, whereas in other performances it tends to blur with the signature motif. An awful lot of pedal with the big bass chords, and drastic shifts in tempo make it a bit heavy-handed, but you might like it. Try Christian Starup at Christian Starup plays “I Give Up”

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* For “Pianistic Thunder,” check out Pianistic Thunder: Bossenbroek, Thomas, Beethoven

 

Pianistic Thunder: Bossenbroek, Thomas, Beethoven

21st Century Classical Music Thrives, Thunderously
Elijah Bossenbroek

When Elijah Bossenbroek’s “I Give Up” obtruded on one of my usually tranquil Pandora background music stations, I was jolted, amazed, thrilled, thunderstruck . . . and secondarily subjected to a wave of nostalgia for classical piano music.

(My apologies to readers who do not usually warm to classical music, but I do urge you to give a listen to Bossenbroek and maybe the others if you like him. They are all short—the Beethoven is the longest at 6:47. They are best played loud; I advise donning headphones. )

Without further adieu, I recommend three YouTube videos of Bossenbroek’s “I Give Up”  (The title is a bit cryptic, but apparently has something to do with giving up the mundane and petty concerns that distract and clutter the soul.) Comments follow the videos.

(Addendum June 30: After listening to “I Give Up” about 70 times (literally!) I highly prefer OPTION THREE below (VikaKim), not just because of the visuals of her keyboard wizardry, which are great. VikaKim’s interpretation, especially near the end, emphasizes the most brilliant elements in a way that Bossenbroek’s himself does not.  (IMHO)

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O Magnum Mysterium – Prayer without Boundaries

I thought of spilling a lot of superlatives (ooh did I ever!) about this song but didn’t want to contaminate it. Judge for yourself. Just be in a quiet space for 8 minutes. Even if you’ve heard it before. . . well, you know. Don’t worry about the religious part – it’s for anyone whose heart is not made of stone.

O Magnum Mysterium, Kings College

There’s a synthetic version by John Serrie that I sort of like just as much, but it’s less organic. So listen to Kings College first.