#81: The Beatles, "Past Masters"
The Beatles, Past Masters, released 1988 by EMI Records

DISC 1

1) Love Me Do [Paul / John]
2) From Me to You [Paul & John]
3) Thank You Girl [Paul & John]
4) She Loves You [Paul & John]
5) I'll Get You [Paul & John]
6) I Want to Hold Your Hand [Paul & John]
7) This Boy [John]
8) Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand [Paul & John]
9) Sie Liebt Dich [Paul & John]
10) Long Tall Sally [Blackwell, Johnson, & Penniman]
11) I Call Your Name [John / Paul]
12) Slow Down [Williams]
13) Matchbox [Perkins]
14) I Feel Fine [John]
15) She's a Woman [Paul / John]
16) Bad Boy [Williams]
17) Yes It Is [John / Paul]
18) I'm Down [Paul]

DISC 2

1) Day Tripper [John & Paul]
2) We Can Work It Out [Paul & John]
3) Paperback Writer [Paul / John]
4) Rain [John]
5) Lady Madonna [Paul]
6) The Inner Light [George]
7) Hey Jude [Paul]
8) Revolution [John]
9) Get Back [Paul]
10) Don't Let Me Down [John]
11) The Ballad of John and Yoko [John]
12) Old Brown Shoe [George]
13) Across the Universe [John]
14) Let It Be [Paul]
15) You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) [John & Paul]

The Past Masters collection is a compilation of Beatles songs that never made it onto albums, mostly because they were released as 45s and it was uncommon then for such singles to then be included on an LP release. The second disc also includes a few alternative versions from the Let It Be sessions.

Despite what you may have gathered from how most people talk about them (myself included), The Beatles didn't spring fully formed out of nowhere. The songs on the first disc are from around their first five albums, Please Please Me through Help!, and are heavily influenced by American popular music – rockabilly, rhythm & blues, surf rock, ballads, even including tunes that were written by other composers.

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of this stage of their career; you may have noted that the earliest Beatles album I own is Rubber Soul, which is the point at which I think they started to really stand out. Interestingly, it's also at that point when John & Paul started to collaborate less as songwriters, and explore and experiment on their own.

Disc 2 picks up during the Rubber Soul era, and I'll offer a few random comments on particular songs. It's pretty much a given that most of these offer catchy hooks, great riffs, etc., etc.

"We Can Work It Out", as I listen more closely, strikes me as not really about compromise at all -- it sounds like Paul saying, "Hey guys, if you'd just listen to me, you'd realize I'm right."

"Rain" is one of their lesser known songs, undeservedly so. It features a gorgeous, fat sound from Paul's bass and what Ringo claims was the best drumming of his career.

Ringo catches a lot of flak, but as I've had the opportunity to become much more familiar with his beats and patterns, I've gained a lot of respect for his drumming. One of the things which obscures his talent is the fact that he never puts his drumming ahead of what works best for the song at hand; he keeps things as simple and subtle as possible.

"The Inner Light" is George going fully mystical, with flute, tabla, and ethnic stringed instruments, and it's somewhat embarrassing to listen to, honestly. From my point of view, it's exciting and worthwhile to incorporate other musical traditions into those of your own culture and thereby create something new; but simply trying to copy another tradition without having inhabited it fully strikes me as self-serving and shallow, like a fellow who claims to fully understand Native American culture after ingesting a little peyote.

I cannot stand "Hey Jude". I think it's a terrible song with a viciously trite melody, made worse by its interminable ending.

I think "Revolution" is John's response to "Helter Skelter"; both are raucous and brash songs whose fuzzed-out guitars and harsh drums look forward to the raw energy and distortion of punk and metal.

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" and "Old Brown Shoe" sound like solo projects even though they were technically Beatles songs. They were written and recorded during the Abbey Road sessions, during which each member of the band, aware that they were breaking up, was also working on the material they would release as solo artists.

"You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" is a silly song. The title comprises pretty much all the lyrics, and the track wanders between styles, from light lounge jazz, to samba, to Pythonesque. It's...um...odd. But kind of entertaning.

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#82: The Beatles, "Let It Be...Naked"
The Beatles, Let It Be... Naked, released 2003 by Apple Records

1) Get Back [Paul / Preston]
2) Dig a Pony [John]
3) For You Blue [George]
4) The Long and Winding Road [Paul]
5) Two of Us [Paul]
6) I've Got a Feeling [Paul / John]
7) One After 909 [John / Paul]
8) Don't Let Me Down [John]
9) I Me Mine [George]
10) Across the Universe [John]
11) Let It Be [Paul]

The Beatles' reactions to Phil Spector's soupy production of Let It Be were mixed at best. John, who had approved Spector in the first place -- essentially bypassing Paul -- was satisfied enough with the outcome to defend the album when pressed about it. Paul, however, hated Spector's end result, as it strayed far from the original concept of a lean, essentially live album. Decades later, he managed to convince all living parties to give him another go at it.

The most notable diffferences are in "The Long and Winding Road" and "Across the Universe", although "Let It Be" is also somewhat different. In addition, the studio chatter has been excised, as well as junk songs "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae", and "Don't Let Me Down" is now included.

"The Long and Winding Road" sounds just as cheesily sentimental without Spector's arrangement, as the Muzak-y lush strings are replaced by Muzak-y piano and synth accompaniment. There's a gorgeous song in here somewhere -- despite the saccharine sound of both versions, I still find it really moving -- but this remix doesn't find it either.

"Don't Let Me Down" was left off the original Let It Be release despite being one of John's most powerful and direct love songs, desperate and vulnerable.

"Across the Universe" is totally stripped of its orchestral and choral overdubs, giving it a much more intimate and personal feel; without them, the original mix sounds pompous and self-important.

I actually prefer the first version of "Let It Be"; I don't like the guitar solo on this one as much, and it leaves out some ornaments of Paul's that I found really beautiful.

In all, Let It Be... Naked is more a curiosity than anything. The alternate versions of songs are interesting, but they're really for the Beatles completist; they don't really add a great deal to the entire body of work.

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#83: The Beatles / Giles Martin, "Love"
The Beatles / Giles Martin, Love, released 2006 by Apple Records

1) Because
2) Get Back
3) Glass Onion
4) Eleanor Rigby, Julia (transition)
5) I Am the Walrus
6) I Want to Hold Your Hand
7) Drive My Car / The Word / What You're Doing
8) Gnik Nus
9) Something, Blue Jay Way (transition)
10) Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! / I Want You (She's So Heavy) / Helter Skelter
11) Help!
12) Blackbird / Yesterday
13) Strawberry Fields Forever
14) Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows
15) Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
16) Octopus's Garden
17) Lady Madonna
18) Here Comes the Sun, The Inner Light (transition)
19) Come Together / Dear Prudence, Cry Baby Cry (transition)
20) Revolution
21) Back in the U.S.S.R.
22) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
23) A Day in the Life
24) Hey Jude
25) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
26) All You Need is Love

Love is the soundtrack to a Cirque du Soleil show, assembled from The Beatles' catalogue by George and Giles Martin. The Martins were granted permission to use as much of Abbey Road's archives as they saw fit – including some material that had never been released – in whatever manner they wanted. Thanks to the freedom granted them, in addition to the familiar versions of their songs, the soundtrack also includes alternate takes, juxtapositions of sections of different songs, isolated stems, and mashups; it's those that make Love more than just a greatest hits compilation.

A few tracks stand out in particular. The opener, "Because", features only the vocal track, showcasing the song's gorgeous harmonies, stark and stately. My favorite, "Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows", superimposes those two songs on top of one another, floating George's dreamy vocals from the former above the relentless rhythm section of the latter. "Octopus's Garden" opens with the familiar verse, but it's backed by the lush string section from another Ringo song, "Good Night", before coming back into familiar territory. And "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" are austere versions of those songs, taken from earlier recording sessions as their composers were fleshing them out.

It's a thrill to hear how different songs of theirs can be made to fit together, or to experience a particular part exposed on its own. Much of the entertainment of listening is trying to identify what bit came from which song.

But that's part of the problem. Rather than integrated wholes, many of the songs feel more like chimeras; cobbled together from a myriad of things (very artfully, mind you) but never adding up to something greater. For most of the tracks my reaction is, "Oh, neat!" rather than "Holy crap that's awesome!"

There's a real missed opportunity here – more so than in any other case, since this may be the only chance anyone gets to work with this kind of raw material. Something really astonishing could have been accomplished; the Martins had the opportunity to take something deeply ingrained in our pop consciousness and rework it into something unfamiliar, magical, and strange – to offer us the chance to re-experience encountering The Beatles for the first time. And while they do achieve glimpses of that here and there, much of the time Love feels too familiar[1].

That's not to say Love isn't worth listening to. Not only is it a lot of fun, but there are a lot of wow-type moments; and, you know, the core music is pretty good. But I can't help but see the CD as bit of a disappointment; not because it's a failure, but because it could have been so much more than just good.
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(1) This may have been a limitation imposed on them by the demands of Cirque du Soleil. For The Beatles' part, Paul is on record as saying he wished Love had gone farther.

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#84: Jaymz Bee & The Royal Jelly Orchestra, "cocktail: shaken and stirred"
Jaymz Bee & The Royal Jelly Orchestra, cocktail: shaken'and stirred, released 1996 by BMG Canada

1) Safety Dance
2) Turn Me Loose
3) American Woman
4) You Oughta Know
5) Run To You
6) Closer To The Heart
7) Takin' Care Of Business
8) Superman's Song
9) Spaceship Superstar
10) Born To Be Wild
11) Sunglasses At Night

Lounge music originally came to prominence in the '50s and '60s as easy listening mood music, sometimes with a hint of world thrown in for flavor – maximally cheesy, the apotheosis of kitsch.  After a lull in the '70s and '80s, it has become something different since its resurgence in the '90s; it sounds similar, but is infused with both irony and nostalgia.  Modern lounge music is as postmodern as it gets, its cachet built entirely on reference to and mockery of both itself and other musics.

The only lounge I find compelling is covers of pop music; there is original stuff being written, but I'm utterly uninterested in it.  What's fascinating for me is the process of taking music that's at least trying to be heartfelt and emotionally intense, and completely and methodically annihilating any passion in it – willfully and almost maliciously missing the point of these songs.

Someone I know once said that lounge isn't about hurting inside; it's about being completely empty inside.  Though the melodrama of that statement makes it self-negating, there's truth to it.  While there's a lot of humor in experiencing these songs as dried husks of themselves, there's a pathos to it as well[1].  Listening to this music is what I imagine it's like to be on mood-stabilizing drugs, or to be addicted to Valium, or even lobotomized.

Anyhow, even with that slightly chilling undercurrent, I find these covers really entertaining.  Jaymz Bee is an imaginative bandleader, and his arrangements are varied, surprising, and spot-on at utterly deconstructing the originals.  Maybe that's the thing about lounge, actually – that at the core of its bouncy cleverness is cheery nihilism.
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(1) In Jaymz Bee's versions, anyhow.  My favorite lounge cover artist, Richard Cheese, takes obvious delight in skewering his targets, and his glee is what makes his versions really fun to listen to.

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#85: Ludwig Van Beethoven, "The Five Piano Concertos"
Ludwig Van Beethoven, The Five Piano Concertos, released 1992 by Sony Classical

DISC 1

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Vladimir Golschmann, conductor
Glenn Gould, piano

1) I. Allegro con brio (cadenza: Glenn Gould)
2) II. Largo
3) III. Rondo. Allegro scherzando (cadenza: Glenn Gould)

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Glenn Gould, piano

4) I. Allegro moderato (cadenza: Ludwig van Beethoven)
5) II. Andante con moto
6) III. Rondo. Vivace (cadenza: Ludwig van Beethoven)

DISC 2

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Glenn Gould, piano

1) I. Allegro con brio (cadenza: Ludwig van Beethoven)
2) II. Adagio
3) III. Rondo. Molto allegro

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C Major, Op. 37
Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Glenn Gould, piano

4) I. Allegro con brio (cadenza: Ludwig van Beethoven)
5) II. Largo
6) III. Rondo. Allegro

DISC 3

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor"
American Symphony Orchestra; Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Glenn Gould, piano

1) I. Allegro
2) II. Adagio un poco moto – attacca:
3) III. Rondo. Allegro

Ludwig van Beethoven is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of Western classical music.  He was the last member of what is now referred to as The First Viennese School (along with Haydn and Mozart), whose contributions are too significant to list outside of book format but are probably most important for developing one of the dominant forms of tonal musical expression: Sonata-allegro form[1].

His tight control over comprehensive motivic development[2] gives his music a ferocious logic, and the physicality of his works belies the delicate, prim elegance of his predecessors.  Ever eager to push boundaries, he was constantly experimenting with new harmonies and reshaping standard musical forms.

Beethoven brought together the inner turmoil and emotional power of the Sturm und Drang movement with the refined precision of Neoclassicism, and inspired two competing schools of musical aesthetics after his death.  Some who succeeded him adopted the narrative aspects of his work, either in by creating music intensely personal in nature or by compising large-scale pieces of music that sought to evoke and illustrate a specific story known as tone-poems; others sought to continue exploring his more technical innovations, advancing the forms that he helped develop and the cause of music qua music.
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The concerto is a showcase piece for a specific instrument with orchestra accompaniment; its one vs. many dynamic of the concerto implies a heroic soloist, a virtuosic individual who conquers and tames the orchestra.

By Beethoven's time, the concerto – a showcase piece for a specific instrument with orchestra accompaniment – was fairly standardized.  It featured an opening movement in sonata-allegro form, with the orchestra stating the first theme and the soloist announcing the second before both move on to the development; a slow, melodic middle movement; and a final movement in rondo form.  The framing movements also feature a cadenza, a virtuosic 'insert' improvised or written by the soloist that was designed to lead back into the recapitulation; to bring the it home.
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It's mildly embarrassing to say, but Beethoven's piano concerti don't really draw me in.  There are, of course, beautiful and surprising moments throughout, and they certainly reward attention; but they don't draw me into their world and envelop me, don't become a part of me – or make me a part of them – like my favorite music does.

I'll also go ahead and admit that I almost always find the slow movements of Classical-era music really boring.

I'm actually most fascinated by my own guilt about the fact that these pieces, among the most revered opuses of LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, don't move me very much.  I feel obligated to find this music sublime and powerful, and that I'm a philistine and a bad musician for failing to do so.

It's an easy and common thing to exhort oneself (and others) to simply enjoy what one enjoys and leave it at that.  But the art that we enjoy is a part of us, it informs who we are, and we judge one another -- and are ourselves judged -- in no small part on the basis of taste.

That itself ties into a phenomenon that I've always found vaguely repulsive[4]: that people go to concerts of classical music not because they enjoy the music but because they want to feel and be perceived as cultured and refined; that when audiences applaud, they're not so much applauding the performers as other members of the audience for sharing their taste[5].

Although perhaps that's not such a bad thing; maybe one of the reasons that seeing music live is a different experience than listening to recordings is that by attending a concert you become -- or are reminded that you are -- part of a community of listeners.  You may value being part of a large -- perhaps worldwide -- community that shares a broadly enjoyed phenomenon that you can share with many; or you may value being part of a smaller community that searches for more obscure experiences whose worth is less obvious, whose treasures are harder to find and shared among fewer people.  Obivously, I tend towards the latter, and obviously, I believe (or want to believe) that I'm a better person for it.  Am I really, though?  Or am I just a smug cultural elitist, someone who falls into the classic trap of assuming that the things I like are the things that everybody should like?

So anyway, to sum up, these are lovely pieces that don't really do a whole lot for me, I feel mildly ashamed that they don't really do a whole lot for me, and I'm kind of confused by my shame.
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<font size=-1>(1) Which I posit is an expression of Christian faith.

(2) In which nearly all of the elements in a composition, on a micro- and macro-level, are derived from a single group of notes.  The most obvious example is his iconic Fifth Symphony.

(3) Part of that is likely the fact that Classical-era music is so often used as incidental music in visual media that our brains are conditioned to shift our window of attention elsewhere.

(4) Though it may not be as widespread as I imagine; and it's certainly not confined to the world of classical music.

(5) Not my idea, but I can't remember where I encountered it.

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#86a: Ludwig van Beethoven, "9 Symphonien", 1/5
Ludwig van Beethoven, 9 Symphonien, released 1963/1999 by Deutsche Grammophon
Berliner Philharmoniker; Herbert von Karajan, conductor

DISC 1

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21

1) 1. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
2) 2. Andante cantabile con moto
3) 3. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace
4) 4. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica"

5) 1. Allegro con brio
6) 2. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai
7) 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
8) 4. Finale. Allegro molto

The general perception of Beethoven is as a Serious Composer, stern and grim and dedicated single-mindedly to his craft, full of focus and passion.  But we forget that – in his music at least – he shows an awful lot of playfulness and mischievousness.But, in his music at least, there's an awful lot of playfulness and mischievousness.

He takes gobs of pleasure in faking you out, in confusing you, in giving you the sense that you have no idea what's going to happen next.  He enjoys making you feel dislocated and disoriented, on a small scale (for example, by making you feel the second beat of the measure as the downbeat, or by resolving a chord into the wrong key, or by making you unsure as to whether you're in duple or triple meter, etc.) and on a large scale (for example, by introducing a third theme when you only expect two, or by feinting at a recapitulation only to dive into another development, etc.).

At its best, this constant sense of not knowing what's going to happen next makes listening to his music like a roller-coaster ride: full of shocks and surprises and uncertainty; but even though you don't know how you're going to wind up there, you know you'll make it home[1].
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The symphony is generally considered the apotheosis of classical music, in which a composer is expected to make their grandest and most profound statements.  The standard formula for a symphony comes in four movements: an opening movement in sonata-allegro form, followed by a slow, introspective movement.  After that comes a jaunty, rollicking dance, and the piece closes with a triumphant movement either in sonata-allegro or rondo form.
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Imagine: you're a composer writing your first major, major, MAJOR piece, a symphony for orchestra, that can make or ruin your career.  You've been working your whole life for this opportunity.  And everyone knows that symphonies are supposed to start boldly and loudly and energetically to get the audience's attention, and that they're supposed to solidly establish the home key from the very beginning.

And then imagine that you decide to do none of these things.

The the opening of Beethoven's First Symphony is incredibly daring: the first notes form a dominant 7th chord, which is the equivalent of beginning a novel with "But...", or "And...".  On top of that, they're played quietly, almost tentatively, and held, like the music is peeking its head around a corner.  Then, after two minutes of wandering around, the piece finally seems to get started properly.

This initial tentativeness also characterizes the second and third movements, which begin with what are practically fade-ins.  The third, a raucous menuet[2], is full of the sudden dynamic shifts that would become one of Beethoven's hallmarks; though it begins softly, it grows quickly and grotesquely[3] to a stomping climax.

And finally, in contrast, the fourth movement begins confidently, with a resounding chord...that then disappears to leave behind a quiet, skittering melody that eventually builds up enough momentum to start the piece proper.

It's a fun piece, and I'm a little surprised I enjoy it so much – I have a strong tendency to prefer a composer's later work.
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Beethoven's Third Symphony, known as the "Eroica", was originally written in celebration of Napoleon and the ideals of the French Revolution; however, as Napoleon's ambition for domination of Europe became more plain, Beethoven became disgusted and instead dedicated the piece 'to celebrate the memory of a great man'.  The first movement is a fierce struggle[4], the second a funeral march, the third a joyous scherzo, and the fourth is – rather than the usual fluffy finale – a serious theme and variations.

Honestly, the last three movements don't hold my attention.  However, I find the first pretty amazing.  The most astonishing part for me comes in the development, when all of a sudden these huge brass notes come out of nowhere and beat the rest of the orchestra into submission to clear the way for an entirely new theme[5].  In the middle of the development.  I'm not sure I can communicate how weird that is, and how mind-blowing it must have been to 19th-century audiences, to introduce a whole new idea at that point.

And I'm obligated to mention the infamous moment when, as the movement is heading back to the recapitulation, one of the horns plays the main theme four bars too early in another glorious Beethoven WTF.

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(1)I think the reason I don't enjoy the piano concertos is that they're lacking this mischevousness.

(2) Another joke from Beethoven, like moshing to Enya.

(3) I'm reminded of Alice growing after she eats the cake.

(4) Which itself is as long as many Haydn and Mozart symphonies.

(5) In E minor no less, which is as distant a key from the opening of the movement you can get(!).  It's like reading Jane Austen and coming across a passage out of Raymond Chandler.

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#86b: Ludwig van Beethoven, "9 Symphonien", 2/5, 3/5

DISC 2

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36

1) 1. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
2) 2. Larghetto
3) 3. Scherzo – Allegro
4) 4. Allegro molto

Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60

5) 1. Vivace – Allegro – Adagio
6) 2. Adagio
7) 3. Allegro vivace
8) 4. Allegro ma non troppo

DISC 3

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 66

1) 1. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
2) 2. Andante cantabile con moto
3) 3. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace
4) 4. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale"

5) 1. Allegro ma non troppo
6) 2. Andante molto mosso
7) 3. Allegro
8) 4. Allegro
9) 5. Allegretto

The rule of thumb for Beethoven's symphonies is that it's the odd-numbered ones that are worthwhile. While that's not entirely true, it holds true of his 2nd and 4th; after listening to them multiple times, I can't remember anything about them.  So I might as well move on.

Everybody knows Beethoven's Fifth Symphony...or at the very least, the ubiquitous opening figure.  What happens after that is probably a little less well known.  Literally every note until the introduction of the second theme is derived from that four-note motive, from both its rhythm and its pitch contour.  The impassioned, fierce opening gives way to a lyrical, searching theme (for which the horns clear the path), and the two begin duking it out, as the piece alternates between hope and despair, one gets the sense of a titanic struggle that's eventually won by the forces of dark.

As I've mentioned before, I tend to get bored by the slow movements of symphonies.  That's all I have to say about the Andante.

The third movement begins with a stately march that recalls the opening theme, but is suddenly interrupted by the strings, who play a rough, joyous fughetta.  Once they're done, the original march slinks back in but only with a shadow of its initial assertiveness, like a mouse trying to avoid being crushed by an elephant.  Eventually, the timpani pulls the orchestra back together, leading unexpectedly straight into

The victorious finale is pretty much unrelentingly triumphant.  It's rousing, but it seems a little standard to me; no real surprises, just a straight-ahead happy-fest.
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Beethoven's Sixth Symphony is unusual in that it contains five movements rather than the standard four; and, while not intended to be as specifically descriptive as later programmatic music inspired by it, one of the piece's goals is to evoke and recall the experience of being out in the countryside.

It was written directly after the tumultous Fifth Symphony, and some interpret it as a contrasting companion piece in its bucolic and relaxed nature...even the famous fourth movement, inspired by thunderstorms, calms down and is supplanted by a warm, comforting finale.  It's a lovely piece; not as weighty as some of his more celebrated works, but worthwhile in its own way.

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#86c: Ludwig Van Beethoven, "9 Symphonien", 4/5

DISC 4

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

1) I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
2) II. Allegretto
3) III. Presto
4) IV. Allegro con brio

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op, 93

5) I. Allegro vivace e con brio
6) II. Allegro scherzando
7) III. Tempo di menuetto
8) IV. Allegro vivace

Beethoven's Seventh Symphony begins disconcertingly; the piece starts with a loud bang that immediately fades into a prim, unhurried melody, that itself is then constantly interrupted by more brief, violent interjections.  That schizophrenia characterizes the symphony as a whole, as it bounces between lyricism and boisterousness with little warning.   There's a brusqueness to his composing that gives me the sense that by this point in his career, Beethoven was tired of smoothing out his music to make it more amenable to convention, and had decided to do whatever he damn well pleased.

After its push/pull introduction, the first movement settles into a weird pattern of growing and shrinking, all the while maintaining a feel of joyous dance.  In complete contrast, the second movement is one of Beethoven's grimmest, an amazing and beautiful funeral march, which occasionally flares up into a hopeful, dreamy reminiscence that's then crushed by the inevitability of death.  And then, in another whiplash turnaround, the third movement begins ecstatically, with another stomping, infectious dance that alternates with a statelier idea (that I find pompous and boring).  As for the final movement, maybe I just don't like final movements; it's a whirlwind of engaging activity, but in the end it feels – as I've said before – like your obligatory rip-roaring finale.  Maybe I just can't believe in happy endings.

Despite that, it's a hell of a piece, and the haunting, despairing second movement will always be with me.

The Eighth Symphony is a particularly strange beast; it was the subject of study in a class of mine, and the teacher made a convincing case that it's Beethoven at his weirdest, trying to sound like a composer who doesn't know what he's doing: all sorts of stuff happens in the "wrong" key; the standard movement structures are totally distorted and warped; the music modulates for no reason and then shifts back just as abruptly, or big huge loud things happen and then are never heard from again; the orchestra seems to get distracted a lot and kind of wanders off occasionally, sometimes even just grinding to a halt; and the last 30 seconds of the piece is just a stupid V-I progression over and over and over again, like you're being beaten over the head.

If you buy that, it's a surprisingly postmodern piece of music in that he's composing about composition – holding up the rules of writing symphonies, breaking them, and then shoving the pieces into his audience's faces and giggling maniacally.  And here's the thing – he makes deconstructing the symphony exciting and lots of fun, and even though he still needs to end up where everyone expects him to, you have no idea how he's going to get there.

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#86d: Ludwig Van Beethoven, "9 Symphonien", 5/5

DISC 5

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

1) I. Allegro ma non troppo – un poco maestoso
2) II. Molto vivace
3) III. Adagio molto e cantabile
4) IV. Presto – O Freunde, Nicht Diese Töne! – Allegro assai

Like the Fifth Symphony, Beethoven's Ninth is another awesome work of which most people only really know a tiny portion of, the ubiquitous "Ode to Joy".  It's a mammoth piece, totally dwarfing any prior symphony in length (clocking in at around 70 minutes) and the forces it calls for (full orchestra + full chorus + soloists).

The first movement doesn't really so much begin as coalesce, as a stern, forceful melody emerges out of a primordial soup of musical fragments.  As in the first movement of the Fifth Symphony, one gets the sense of a magnificent struggle, as the piece constantly shifts in tone from delicate to brutal, from wistful to grim; but in the Ninth, there's a sense of desperation that somehow makes this struggle seem more personal, more internal in nature.

The exhilarating second movement is restless and frantic, supported throughout by a galloping rhythm that's a constant presence as the music swells and fades, lending the piece an unflagging relentlessness that is one of the things I enjoy most about some of his works.

As I've said before, I'm generally not a fan of slow movements, and this third movement is no exception.  It's very pleasant, but it never captures my attention.

The reverie of the third movement is wiped clean by the bombastic opening of the utterly titanic fourth.  It's as long as many whole symphonies, about 25 minutes long, and there are some who interpret it as a symphony of its own, with four sub-movements played without pause.  After a stormy entrance, the first three movements of the symphony are, in turn, quoted and interrupted by a melody in the strings which itself eventually develops into the melody of what will be the "Ode to Joy".

What follows is a kind of recapitulation of the entrance, but the strings are replaced by a forceful baritone who reprimands the orchestra for not playing more joyful music (lyrics and translation at Wikipedia) before launching into Schiller's Ode to Joy.  His melody is taken up by a full chorus, and they eventually rouse the orchestra into joining them without abandon, building to a rousing finish.

Maybe it's my state of mind these days, but I can't help but wonder if the nearly undiluted optimism of the finale is intended sarcastically.  I suppose it's not out of line with his earlier symphonies, but the Ninth begins with and carries a such an unflagging tone of, as I said, frantic desperation, that the ending seems incongruous.  In addition, Beethoven – a bitter iconoclast to the end – often received criticism for breaking convention, and (to enter the realm of pure speculation) I imagine he bristled at having to end every symphony on a happy note...and so the joy we hear is actually a kind of middle finger to the expectations he was expected to fulfill.

In addition, I can't help but recall one of my favorite John Cage stories; someone asked him why he didn't like Beethoven's Ninth, and he replied, "I like being moved; I don't like being pushed."

All that said, however, the Ode is unquestionably beautiful and uplifting, and I can't help but recall what some have said of James Cameron's Titanic; being fully aware that your emotions are being manipulated doesn't make what you feel any less powerful.

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#87: Ludwig Van Beethoven, "Piano Sonatas Vol. 1"
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Piano Sonatas Vol. 1, released 1991 by VoxBox
Alfred Brendel, piano

DISC 1

Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier"

1) I. Allegro
2) II. Scherzo
3) III. Adagio sostenuto
4) IV. Largo; Allegro risoluto

Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

5) I. Maestoso; Allegro con brio e appassionato
6) II. Arietta: Adagio molto, simplice e cantabile

DISC 2

Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101

1) I. Allegretto ma non troppo
2) II. Vivace alla marcia
3) III. Adagio ma non troppo con affeto; Presto

Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109

4) I. Vivace ma non troppo; Adagio espressivo
5) II. Prestissimo
6) III. Tema con variazioni

Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110

7) I. Moderato cantabile; molto espressivo
8) II. Allegro molto; III. Adagio ma non troppo
9) Fuga: Allegro ma non troppo

Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90

10) Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
11) Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen

Beethoven's late piano sonatas are often hailed as some of his finest and most profound work, as towards the end of his life Beethoven pressed even further into unexplored territory in both the formal and narrative arcs of his music.  He seemed particularly interested in dissolving the boundaries between movements; for example, the final movement of his Ninth Symphony, which is commonly viewed as a symphony unto itself, or his String Quartet Op. 131, which has seven movements played continuously[1].

The emotion in these works is more understated than in Beethoven's earlier music; many of them convey a gentleness and an autumnal sense of acceptance and resignation, tempering the bombast and ferocity that's still present.

My favorites are:

The slow movement of Piano Sonata No. 29, which is sumptuously played by Brendel.  For some reason this is one of the few such movements that moves me.

The second movement of Sonata No. 32, a graceful and sunny set of variations, culminating in a shimmering, delicate reverie.  After the stormy, troubled first movement, the ending feels transcendent, like floating into the sky.

The entirety of No. 30 is gorgeous, from the liquid, wistful opening movement, through the impassioned middle, until the amazing theme and variations that dominates the piece[2][3].

Brendel's playing is lovely; there are a couple of fumbles here and there, some badly engineered splices, and some parts where it feels like he's trying a little to hard to be loud, but for the most part his interpretations are assured, crystalline, and graceful.
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(1) It's also my understanding that the Tenth Symphony was intended to be one large continuous piece, but I can't find anything to back it up.

(2) More than twice as long as the first two movements combined.

(3) I think Theme/Variations is one of the things Beethoven does best, and are usually my favorites of his.

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#88: Ludwig Van Beethoven, "Variations and Bagatelles"
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Variations and Bagatelles, released 1975/1992 by Sony Classical
Glenn Gould, piano

DISC 1

1-12) 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80

13-19) 6 Variations in F Major, Op. 34

20-36) 15 Variations with Fugue in E-flat Major, Op. 35 "Eroica"

DISC 2

7 Bagatelles, Op. 33

1) No. 1 in E-flat Major. Andante grazioso quasi Allegretto
2) No. 2 in C Major. Scherzo. Allegro
3) No. 3 in F Major. Allegretto
4) No. 4 in A Major. Andante
5) No. 5 in C Major. Allegro ma non troppo
6) No. 6 in D Major. Allegretto quasi Andante
7) No. 7 in A-flat Major. Presto

6 Bagatelles, Op. 126

8) No. 1 in G Major. Andante con moto cantabile e compiacevole
9) No. 2 in G Minor. Allegro
10) No. 3 in E-flat Major. Andante cantabile e grazioso
11) No. 4 in B minor. Presto
12) No. 5 in G Major. Quasi Allegretto
13) No. 6 in E-flat Major. Presto – Andante amabile e con moto

What I particularly like about the Theme and Variations form is experiencing a narrative arc being built step by step from a simple concept, like watching an origami master turn a piece of paper into an elaborate sculpture.  The composer presents a seed and tries h/h best to explore it as thoroughly as is interestingly possible by writing a set of pieces that all derive closely from that seed – using its chord structure, its melodic shape, and/or its dramatic layout.  And then the composer must put them in an order that makes musical sense, that gives the pieces as a whole a sense of unity and flow.

Beethoven's "32 Variations"[1] is an exemplar of this, taking an austere 8-bar idea and building a monumental, exciting piece out of what first appears to be very little.  He manages to use this tiny core to fuel a set of variations that are wildly different in character and tone, from haunting to ferocious to pastoral, and manages to pace this dramatic journey perfectly.  My "favorites" are Variation XII, which is a jarring contrast in all kinds of ways: after 11 variations of constant growth and acceleration, it's gentle and meditative; and it changes the mode from C minor to C major; and Variation XXVI for its stern power – but so much of what they mean is dependent on the context of the variations that lead into them that it's misleading to talk about them in isolation.

This is one of my favorite pieces of Beethoven's.

The other variations don't do much for me; the 6 Variations in F are of a different style, as each variation within is more stand-alone, and less satisfying to follow as a result.  And while the "Eroica" Variations are among his most famous, it's the 32 Variations that really call me.  As for the Bagatelles, I liked Op. 126 No. 4, which had a stompy rustic feel, with some syncopated arpeggios that I really liked and a gorgeous, dreamy middle section.
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(1) WoO means "Without Opus", never published.

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#Ludwig Van Beethoven: "Piano Sonatas Vol. 1"
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Piano Sonatas Vol. 1, released 1994 by Sony Classical
Glenn Gould, piano

DISC 1

Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1
1) I. Allegro
2) II. Adagio
3) III. Menuetto. Allegretto
4) IV. Prestissimo

Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2 No. 2
5) I. Allegro vivace
6) II. Largo appassionato
7) III. Scherzo. Allegretto
8) IV. Rondo. Grazioso

Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2 No. 3
9) I. Allegro con brio
10) II. Adagio
11) III. Scherzo. Allegro
12) IV. Allegro assai

DISC 2

Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10 No. 1
1) I. Allegro molto e con brio
2) II. Adagio molto
3) III. Finale. Prestissimo

Sonata No. 6 in F Major, Op. 10 No. 2
4) I. Allegro
5) II. Allegretto
6) III. Presto

Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3
7) I. Presto
8) II. Largo e mesto
9) III. Menuetto. Allegro
10) IV. Rondo. Allegro

Sonata No. 12 in A-flat Major, Op. 26
11) I. Andante con Variazioni
12) II. Scherzo. Allegro molto
13) III. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe
14) IV. Allegro

DISC 3

Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique"
1) I. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
2) II. Adagio cantabile
3) III. Rondo. Allegro

Sonata No. 9 in E Major, Op. 14 No. 1
4) I. Allegro
5) II. Allegretto
6) III. Rondo. Allegro comodo

Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 14 No. 2
7) I. Allegro
8) II. Andante
9) III. Scherzo. Allegro assai

Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1
10) I. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I – attacca:
11) II. Allegro molto e vivace – attacca:
12) III. Adagio con espressione – attacca:
13) IV. Allegro vivace

Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
14) I. Adagio sostenuto – attacca:
15) II. Allegretto – attacca:
16) III. Presto agitato

When I encounter music by The Greats, works that are confirmed masterpieces, it's difficult to separate my actual response from how I'm told I should respond; so often it seems that we're told that the only reason we don't like piece X or composer Y is because we're not sufficiently educated.  That disliking a piece is a failing of ours rather than the composer's.

I wonder, actually, if most classical-era music has too much baggage to be listened to with truly critical ears.  In a sense, much of it has survived only because many generations of people found it worth listening to, and the fact that it's still around should predispose us to reacting to it positively.

Anyway, let me start by saying that in general, I tend to prefer composers' later works to their earlier ones, and these pieces of Beethoven's fall squarely in the latter category. I hope not to be too dismissive of an important and gigantic body of work, but I'm just going to touch on the pieces that caught my ear.

The first movement of Piano Sonata No. 2 opens with a cute, somewhat cheeky introduction that transitions into a warmly melodic second theme, and the interplay between them is constantly engaging and surprising; the first theme seems so excited it's constantly getting ahead of itself, while the second brings a gentle and loving calm.

I like parts of the Adagio of Sonata No. 3; there's a recurring theme whose ominous ticking sounds like something awful, approaching inexorably.

The "Pathetique" is one of Beethoven's best-known piano sonatas, and it's pretty damn good.  It begins with a solemn march, heavy and ponderous, that suddenly explodes into something brutal and terrifyingly fast; the first movement is a roller-coaster ride, as the piece veers back and forth between these two extremes.  The middle movement is one of the loveliest pieces Beethoven wrote, showcasing a warm, welcoming melody in its A section, which gives way to a more poignant B section; it feels like a memory of something treasured and since lost.  The third movement, however, seems a bit perfunctory, lacking the profundity of the first two.

The first movement of the Moonlight Sonata is the best-known[1], but it's the third movement which is totally badass, a great example of Beethoven's ability to write something violent and relentless that feels barely in control.
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(1) This is a fascinating article about how it sounds on the kind of piano it was inteded for.

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#90: Ludwig Van Beethoven, "Piano Sonatas Vol. 2"
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Piano Sonatas Vol. 2, released 1994 by Sony Classical
Glenn Gould, piano

DISC 1

Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 "Pastorale"

1) I. Allegro
2) II. Andante
3) III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
4) IV. Rondo. Allegro, ma non troppo

Sonata No 23 in F minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"

5) I. Allegro assai
6) II. Andante con moto – attacca:
7) III. Allegro, ma non troppo – Presto

DISC 2

Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op. 31 No. 1

1) I. Allegro vivace
2) II. Adagio grazioso
3) III. Rondo. Allegretto

Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "The Tempest"

4) I. Largo – Allegro
5) II. Adagio
6) III. Allegretto

Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3

7) I. Allegro
8) II. Scherzo. Allegretto vivace
9) III. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso
10) IV. Presto con fuoco

DISC 3

Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109

1) I. Vivace, ma non troppo
2) II. Prestissimo
3) III. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo

Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110

4) I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
5) II. Allegro molto
6) III. Adagio, ma non troppo – Fuga. Allegro, ma non troppo

Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

7) I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
8) II. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

My favorites here are the two named sonatas, the Pastorale and the Tempest.  The Pastorale is just that, filled with a gentle but effusive joy.  The opening movement begins with a gently rolling pedal tone over which blossoms a lilting motif before giving way to rougher, more rustic music that itself eventually settles back down into a more celebratory version of the initial music.  The Andante starts simply, a plodding bass line underpinning a stern melody...and in this movement Beethoven subverts the conventions of the form to great effect.  The movement appears pretty straightforward, with a form that begins AA | A'A' | BB | B'B' | A...and though we do next hear an A section, it's a total shock as the stern melody we expect erupts into something agitated and trapped, as if caged...and once it's spent, the piece ends mournfully, defeated.  The Scherzo is quick and charmingly stompy.  And the finale is a Rondo/Variation form, starting with warmly swaying music that grows and transforms throughout before ending in ecstasy.

The Tempest is very much opposite in tone, oppressive and weighty.  It was supposedly inspired by the Shakespeare play, although these days most believe that his biographer was "making shit up".  As in the second movement of the Pastorale – and I believe Beethoven was starting to explore this in depth around this period – the first movement turns the idea of recapitulation on its head; when we expect to hear a restatement of the beginning, we instead hear something related but different...or, to put it another way, we return home to find that it has been transformed in our absence.  Throughout the movement, two ideas are in conflict: one, a haunting, ghostly arpeggio, like an intrusion from another world; the other, stormy and restless, unable to find peace.  And then, when the arpeggio returns during the recapitulation, it suddenly sings a lonely, mournful melody, like a spirit forming words, and it's shocking, beautiful, and incredibly arresting.

The slow movement is, to me, just a slow movement, although it starts with a slow, arpeggiated chord that alludes to the opening; it's a cool way to unify the sonata as a whole, and another idea Beethoven would continue to explore: reusing ideas in different movements of a piece.

The third movement is absolutely amazing; listening to it is like being drowned in a flood.
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On a different note, the last three sonatas on the disc are some of the few pieces I have multiple performances of; you may recall that I also have recordings of them by Alfred Brendel.  I'm not very good at criticizing different interpretations – given performer X's recording of a piece, it's difficult for me to point out the flaws unless I'm somehow intimately familiar with it – but being able to listen to these side-by-side is illuminating.  First of all, Brendel (whom I prefer in this case) is recorded much more warmly (maybe with more low-mid frequencies?), and Gould sounds stiff and distant by comparison.  Secondly, Brendel's playing has an effortless grace and flow, whereas Gould feels technical and notey, overly concerned with precision.  Also, Gould (as he was known for) takes some really strange tempos...sometimes, by doing so, he was able to reveal something new about a piece everybody thought they knew; other times, it just sounds plain wrong.  Point: Brendel.

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