Beethoven, again!

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

…a huge oeuvre to explore in his birthday year.

When the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra welcomed its audience back this month the programme began with the premiere of a cleverly-named fanfare by New Zealander John Psathas. The Five Million for brass and percussion was short, intense and theatrical and the sold-out audience loved it. I listened at home on RNZ Concert and the delight of audience and performers reunited in the concert hall was palpable.  

The wonderfully inclusive phrase "the team of five million" successfully encouraged New Zealanders to follow the rules of lockdown and social distancing and one of our rewards for good behaviour has been the return of live concerts - I've been to three already this month. Audiences have been large and Beethoven has been part of every programme. So I have a question – how much Beethoven is too much Beethoven?

There is of course a huge Beethoven oeuvre to explore, and it is his 250th birthday year. And as any concert presenter will tell you, this composer is box office magic and audiences are probably looking for the familiar and well-loved in these extraordinary times. But as we celebrate this birthday, are presenters programming Beethoven in ways that help us gain new insights into a composer who changed western classical music for ever?

For several recent concerts, we’ve been offered music by a young Beethoven, that staggeringly talented pianist and composer who was prolific even in his early twenties. Michael Houstoun joined the APO after the Psathas fanfare for a sparkling and energetic performance of the master’s 1st Piano Concerto, for which Beethoven, just days after his 25th birthday, had been soloist at the first performance in 1795.

Beethoven was not only an extraordinary musician; from the beginning of his career he was ambitious and strategic about marketing his talent. Keen to make the right impression on Vienna, in the same year as the 1st Concerto premiere he published a set of three Piano Trios dedicated to his patron Prince Lichnowsky. He called it Opus 1, though it was not his first publication. The Ghost Trio of Monique Lapins (violin), Ken Ichinose (cello) and Gabriela Glapska (piano) chose the third and most forthright of these for their recent lunchtime concert at Wellington’s St Andrews-on-the-Terrace. They offered an extroverted performance of music full of the bold dynamic contrasts and drama we associate with Beethoven’s later works.

This accomplished ensemble provided excellent programme notes for their recital and also enterprising programming, pairing Beethoven’s work with a 20th century Opus 1 by Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik. In contrast to Beethoven’s forward-looking writing, this romantic piece, played with passionate expression, looked back to the 19th century.

The following Sunday a group of the NZSO’s finest, led by Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Lëppanen and billed as ‘Vesa & Friends’, began their current Chamber Music New Zealand regional tour in Waikanae. Two early Beethoven chamber works were separated by Mozart’s elegant and dark-hued Horn Quintet K407, notable for the effortless musicality of horn player Sam Jacobs in this performance. The audience first enjoyed a beautifully intimate String Trio Opus 3 written by young Beethoven in 1793 and then his richly melodious Sextet for Two Horns and String Quartet from the same period. Both were engaging performances showing Beethoven’s lighter side and the programme notes were a fine mix of biography and musical insight.

A few days later the same musicians were on-stage in the Michael Fowler Centre with the rest of the NZSO for an all-Beethoven programme directed by Hamish McKeich. Pianist Diedre Irons delighted with a marvellous ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto followed by a charming but slightly less inspiring ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. The NZSO made little attempt to inform their audience with no printed programme nor commentary from the podium. These are well-known works but persistent clapping between movements showed the large audience included many newcomers - something of a missed opportunity for engagement by our largest musical institution. You can read my RNZ Concert Upbeat review of this concert and enjoy the livestream here.

So, what more is to come? Already underway is the New Zealand String Quartet’s much-anticipated national tour of his complete String Quartets, on the road until October. Expect a deep dive into wonderful music written across Beethoven’s whole career. And of course there will be many more Beethoven works in concert programmes before we reach his actual birthday in December.

So, referring back to my question, are we already reaching “peak Beethoven?”. Of course not! There is so much extraordinary music that can be successfully programmed from this towering giant within the history and culture of western music. And his role in history was so pivotal and revolutionary that there is much for us to learn about him if presenters take the trouble to offer us context.

Maybe in planning for this year they should have thought as well about ways to re-imagine Beethoven?  Did it occur to any of our institutions to commission works from those New Zealand composers who believe Beethoven has been an inspiration or to ask them to write birthday homages to the master? [See Postscript below.] History moves on and today’s composers are still writing. While we celebrate Beethoven's 250th birthday with his own music, can we also rejoice that "classical" music is alive and well and being renewed every day? That is surely reason enough for a very lively musical party in 2020.

Postscript: The APO planned an event in the 2020 Auckland Arts Festival. Sadly it was cancelled when New Zealand locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic. It included not only the complete Beethoven symphonies and a “Beethoven’s Big Birthday Bash” event for community, student and professional musicians based on the 9th Symphony, but three Ludwig Reflected performances for which tribute works were commissioned from composers Gillian Whitehead, Chris Gendall, and Celeste Oram collaborating with Alex Taylor. These new works were to be performed by student ensembles alongside selected chamber works by Beethoven. The APO hopes to reschedule this project for a future occasion.

You can read more articles about Beethoven on this site in Riffing like Beethoven, Happy birthday, Ludwig! and Houstoun plays the seducer.