Beethoven Piano Concerto 5 'Emperor' on period instruments (1/4)

[mrbrianmccarthy]

Beethovens early music is 100% classical---when he entered into the 19th century his style became more brooding,more powerful,more dramatic.Some people call it "Romantic"---but Beethoven was just developing his style,and thats it.To be honest,I hear Beethovens music as being more militaristic,more patriotic than romantic----(Remember the tmes he lived in!Gemany was at war with Napoleon,and Beethoven was very nationalistic,and had many friends in the nobility that were his patrons)

[brandonscherrer]

Beethoven had his own genre, Beethovian!

[MuseDuCafe]

Get a grip, people ~ Beethoven's output, beginning to end, is resolutely classical ~ uses classical formats, harmonic procedures, aesthetics, no matter how expanded. It strains at the classical perimiters, but never breaks them. He was not at all concerned with an overlap of birth - death dates inconvenient to historic era chapter divides.

Carl Maria von Weber and Schubert were the first early Romantic composers. No one threw out all the 'period' instruments when they began coomposing either.

[Enad700]

The artist offers and the listener likes or not. No need for "chapels" to be sure we do not make mistakes. Resentment lies. If you do not like, you do not listen. It is pointless to be indignant about that. Come on, do not make the "precious disgusted" (Valse pour un précieux dégoûté) to quote Eric Satie, life is so short.

[Enad700]

L'artiste propose et l'auditeur dispose. Pas besoin de chapelles pour être sûr qu'on ne se trompe pas. Le ressentiment ment. Si on n'aime pas, on n'écoute pas. C'est vain de s'indigner pour ça. Allons, ne faites pas les "précieux dégoûtés" pour reprendre Éric Satie, la vie est si courte.

[Enad700]

I'm not musicologist but I can only talk about what I read or heard about it. Schubert is considered as far as I know the first romantic composer. Beethoven is at most heralding romantic music by a more personal and individual expression. The musical form would remain essentially classical as Ellas says. In music, he would invent the German music according to the musicologists but not the romantic one. I suppose the notion of German music refers to the mood of his music. Anyway, it's beautiful.

[richardtheteague]

At about 5:23, I nearly weep at the beauty of this piece.

[esteff22]

i heard he wrote this for mnapoleon, or somthing, i wonder why?

[JacobRudduck]

@esteff22 I think that was Symphony no.3, but he later crossed the dedication out when Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of the French in May 1804...

[JacobRudduck]

I've always thought that Beethoven looks like Rowan Atkinson in this painting...

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic! I hereby rename this "Conqueror" - me. :-)

[altyair]

Beethoven is not romantic or classical. Beethoven is Beethoven.

[Rosecrus]

@altyair Haha! I love it. Talk some sense into the dismal would-be musicologists who cannot seem to grasp the fact that Beethoven is Beethoven and that he is far too Large and sublimly defiant to be placed into one of their little boxes.

[BoggiDTerminator]

Wow, the piano was so weak back then compared to modern recordings. Not that it's a necessarily bad thing, it sounds refreshingly different. Ironically, Beethoven is far more potent and alive on period instruments. The music just flows and has more swing, echo and power.

[BoggiDTerminator]

And for once they get the tempo and structure of the music right.

[BoggiDTerminator]

And for once they get the tempo right. Most modern recordings are so sterile.

[advisorC101]

Absolutely magnificent.

[melvinch]

Why does the Beethoven on the cover looks like Lewis Collins the Brit actor ?

[Mist9879]

and he was deth when he composed this, truly, a genius he was

[EwigesM]

no, he has never been "deaf"-only that hearing loss (gradual from one degree to another) was the result of physical ailment(s), perhaps a combination of factors resulting in loss of ability to hear as B would have liked to have done so

[Lek1o]

magnifique

[ulsbolde89]

Magnificent!

[rcc400]

This does sound IMPERIAL.

[mrmolinodelahoz]

As forte pianos go, this one is exceptionally good. Most forte pianos sound lacking for Beethoven but this recording really works well.

[chopinandliszt]

Clearly shows his love for Mozart piano concertos nos.22, 25. Beethoven was an exceptional genius and a true successor of Mozart.

[fricoepolente]

Thankyou for posting that recording! It's very beautiful

[Benniboy93]

beautiful

[Anibaloide]

Un bello concierto y una bella interpretación, como cabía esperar de la Academy y de Christopher Hogwood.

[cubsrule2040]

this is romantic, not classical. I don't see why romantic music is played on period instruments

[elias12186]

1) It is classical not romantic

2) even if it was romantic so what? They still had different instruments

[cubsrule2040]

This concerto's not quite as classical as his first two symphonies or the works of Mozart and Haydn

[elias12186]

In the strictest definition of romanticism, Beethoven never entered the romantic era. Sure his music has drama, but it follows a classical form.

[cubsrule2040]

symphonies and sonatas: fast-slow-scherzo-fast

concert: fast-slow-fast

[Haeronthegreat]

How do you mean a 'classical form'? Brahms' music is mostly highly classically structured, very strictly so; is his music therefore classical too? Just pointing that out, Beethoven is obviously not a romantic, but a pre-romantic.

[animelf]

@elias12186 Are you serious? read up on your history man. Beethoven was the major figure in the beginning of the romantic era, his symphony 3 (eroica) is called in many academic circles "the first romantic work". His musical ideas and changes of forms such as symphony, sonata and quartets are the main features of romantic era,he could in fact be called the ignition of romantic period.His distant modulations,dynamics,dissonanc­es make up the romantic ideas, which from many composers strive from.

[MastersoftheOpera]

@animelf Absolutely, he was the first major Romantic Era composer. His early training was in Classical Era (Mozart, Haydn, etc. Salieri was his teacher). But Beethoven was writing music in the Napoleonic Era at the beginning of the 19th century (1800's) which falls under the Romantic Period. His 9th Symphony opened the doors to all subsequent symphonic composers.

[cubsrule2040]

he was the bridge between the Classical and Romantic periods

[cubsrule2040]

@elias12186 i know the form is classical, but in the Second Period of Beethoven's works, it's really hard to tell whether it's Classical or Romantic.

[voluspaa1962]

Instruments have evolved since the times of Beethoven, "period instruments" has nothing to do with music being classical or romantic. Orchestras were smaller, trumpets and horns didn't have valves, and even the piano had a somewhat different sound. As to whether Beethoven never entered the romantic era, that is also incorrect - he actually created romanticism, gradually leaving behind the traditional classical forms. His late string quartets and piano sonatas are witness to this.

[Enad700]

@cubsrule2040 I don't think, mister, Beethoven is consider as a romantic. He is a classical composer with already an individual expression. If I'm right, the first one considered as a romantic composer is Schubert. I don't know exactly when the instruments of music of orchestra was definitely crystalized but at least at the end of the 18° century, it's begun and certainly Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert would still know those instruments of music. The modern piano wasn't existing yet.

[mlema094]

The reason why it doesn't sounds Eb Major is simply because this is performed with period instruments and that the concert pitch was slighly different (A= 400 HZ approx, thus being lower thant the actual 440hz) :)

[inturtaner]

is this performed in another key... i could swear this isn't E-flat maj- my ears are ringing D Maj...

[psycabefl]

I don't think it's that far off.  I was just listening to a new recording of this concerto yesterday and the day before (I like this faster tempo much better). It might be tuned to a different A though.

[masael255]

I'm pretty sure it's Eb major. I just had my violin kind of drone that note for a few measures and it seems to be right. *thinks* Not sure why it could sound D major...Maybe it's that whole Paganini thing. :P

[Contractor815]

Most period music performers tune their A to 415, which is a half-step down from our modern A of 440. This is why E-flat major sounds like D major; the notes are still written and fingered in E-flat, only the tuning changes.

[Havenscope]

Thank you so much for posting this! It's great to hear it as it originally would have been.