Consecration Of The House Overture by Beethoven - Enjoy this!

No lovers of Handel or Beethoven here then!

It is a no great challenge to listen to this. Only a quarter of an hour, and worth every second!

ATB from George

Uh, that would  be a big "NO", George Frederik!  Who doesn't love both?  I have an additional reason for loving Ludwig's music (aside from the fact that had he a better ear and a little better training, he might have amounted to something).  My piano teacher Carl Leifheit's teacher was Rosina Lhévinne, an instructor whom he shared with Van Cliburn.  I was aware from what Mr. Leifheit had told me in the early 'sixties that Madame Lhévinne's own teachers stretched back to Franz Liszt.  So I did some extensive research and found that her pedagogical "pedigree" included, not only Liszt, but Haydn, Bach, many others, and none other than Maestro Beethoven himself.  Now, we shall forget for the moment that Mr. Leifheit, himself an accomplished pianist though not a concert artist, once told my mother she was wasting her money due to the fact that "...your son has no ear for music, no sense of rhythm, and is, quite frankly, lazy!"  I contacted several of my fellow students from those days, all excellent teachers and performers---all of whom I remembered and none of whom remembered me.  They were fascinated, however, to learn the masters to whom they could ultimately trace their own instruction.  I got an email from a piano teacher in Boston who knew one of these folks and wanted a copy of the "lineage".  He expressed regret that his own did not include anyone great.  I told him I would give him one lesson for $10,000.00 and then he too could claim all of Lhévinne's and Leifheit's (and my ) heritage.

The piece was lovely, and I am shamefaced to admit I had never heard it.  I will own it soon, you can be sure.  I can only add that, had Beethoven and I been contemporaries, he would no doubt have consulted me on the opening.

Best regards,

Russ

Thanks George.  Always looking to improve my classical education with something new.  At first I thought it was played fast but I have never heard this before so how I felt that I don't know.

Was this written when he was young.  My bet is its a young mans piece. 

Only Beethoven I own is the zig zag box set.

Magnificent George, thanks.

That got me waving my 'air baton', but I hope you realise though, you're costing me plenty. 

Dear Russ,

One day I'll tell about about the lineage of my double bass teachers!

Dear Briz,

This is actually very late Beethoven indeed! From a similar time to the Missa Solemnis! I don't think people appreciate that Beethoven was not quite the glowering terror as seen in the usual portrates of him, but like Bach actually, he was a man with a very real sense of humour! He wrote some marvelous music for mandolin and keyboard, which if you played the game of identify the composer, you would never guess Beethoven! I am not sure many would guess Beethoven straight off for this overture either!

The actual performance is precisely graded for tempi so that the architecture becomes a strong aspect [as it always is with Beethoven], but the performance is less fast than Toscanini or the recent Immerseel recordings, and quicker than quite a few others. Klemperer was no slow coach, contrary to popular mythology!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...the_House_(overture)

Dear George,

I am so happy to have been able to share enjoying this music with people!

ATB from George

What's funny, George, is that my piano teacher actually played bass with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra.  I assume he also gave bass lessons to the teeming thousands of young kids in South Texas, clamoring to learn that instrument instead of playing baseball! 

But he also taught piano.  And when a visiting artist was due to play with the Symphony, he would rehearse with the Orchestra, then run through the pieces with the visitor when he or she arrived.  One day, my mother dropped me off for my lesson and drove away.  There were no cell phones, of course, in the early 'sixties, so he had  been unable to communicate that my lesson had been cancelled.  "Come in, Russ, and sit down, but be very, very quiet."  We walked into his front room (unfurnished except for twin Steinways, facing each other.)  A little man was seated at the main piano.  His hair was mostly white and he seemed to me to be at least a thousand years old.  As we entered, he turned and looked at me as though a small dog had entered the room.  "This is one of my students, who will be listening," Mr. Leifheit said.  The little man said nothing, only nodding his head curtly, but politely, and immediately began playing, occasionally stopping and exchanging a few words in a low voice with my teacher. 

I did remain quiet--and my mother arrived before the session was over--I'm sure he never gave me antoher thought or remembered one letter of my name--but I will always remember the day I spent three quarters of an hour in the room with Arturo Rubenstein. 

To this day, I have no idea what he was playing...but I like to think it was Chopin.

Cheers,

Russ

Dear Briz,

Klemperer was not inherently a fast conductor - at least during the time when he was granted good recordings - but his realisation that every single note has its necessary weight in the greater [long term] scheme means that at often a five pro cent slower tempo than average, when every note is presented clearly, there is a massive build up of energy that to the open minded ear seems actually to have a "quick tempo" compared to the norm.

Actually sometimes Klemeprer is the fastest on record, but only where the music can still be clear at rocket speed, and the spirit behind the notes requires a speedy response!

In great old age, Klemperer made some recordings [and concert performances] that really were the slowest ever achieved with continuity and compelleing engagement and for some not. From this came his reputation for always going slow. This far from a true reflection of his choice of tempi, which was always based on lucidity rather than "raising the temperature" - or over cooking the meat!

ATB from George