A Love of Art

(This article was originally written for WCWinSIGHT.)

Originality – a scarce commodity and one worth a fabulous price…At school I had to take orchestral studies.  As a fledgling opera student this didn’t seem exactly fair: I also had to take courses on the entire vocal repertoire (orchestral students didn’t have to do this).  However I learned a lot…I had a particularly eccentric teacher who was interested in nothing but Beethoven.  An avid student, I approached the subject gamely if a little uncertainly (I never really understood the big deal).  Also, Beethoven was just one composer of many – did he really warrant a university course dedicated solely to his work?

Cut to just a few years ago and my discovery of the string quartets.

Bigger isn’t always better
I’ve always been a fan of the string quartet as a musical form.  Usually written for two violins, viola and cello, exceptional compositional skill and a great mastery of musical theory are required to write this form successfully.  Think about it: in a symphony there is so much layering of the individual instruments, repetition and musical filler are often used to flesh out the body of the music.  The scope is large and throughout the ages has become increasingly lush and overblown – in the great symphonic works there is an abundance of grandeur, weight and reach – think of Brahms, Dvorak, Mahler.  In fact, think of Beethoven (Brahms was the first notable composer to take up writing symphonies after Beethoven had revolutionized the musical structure – after a gap of more than 50 years).

Exquisite anguish
Back to the string quartets…Op. 130 in B flat Major is harmonically and emotionally diverse.  The fifth movement, the Cavatina.  Molto adagio espressivo, is lyrical, sweeping and terribly, terribly sad.   It’s hard to pick out one melody amidst the wash of unbroken and interwoven musical phrases, but the emotional language is raw and immediate.

Although this particular opus is regarded as the ‘happiest’ of the late quartets (and remember that the term is decidedly relative), this movement bears with the expression mark ‘Beklemmt’ (meaning ‘anguished’).   Through unbroken song Beethoven seems to long for emotional release, peace and acceptance, and a relief from grief that, sadly, never came.

Radical contrast
This movement is radically contrasted with what comes next, the sixth and final movement, Finale. Allegro.  Actually this is the second version of the finale; the original sixth movement, what became Op. 133, the Grosse Fugue, at 16 minutes long was impossible to play and ultimately unpopular (one professor actually likened it to being hit over the head with a baseball bat, albeit in a good way - check it out!).  It’s interesting that Beethoven, famous for his recalcitrance, agreed to rewrite the piece – a debate has raged over two centuries as to whether or not this second finale is indeed the better musical statement.

Regardless, it is how Beethoven chose to end his great piece, and after the emotional anguish of the Cavatina, the contrast here is enormous.  The movement starts off with a bouncy accompaniment and a clearly defined theme played by the first violin - listening to this piece you are never aware of the composer’s great personal pain.  The melody is lyrical, sweet, unaffected and youthful.  It is a return to a happier time, and possessed of the optimistic quality that characterizes this quartet.  The beklemmt markings are forgotten and the piece comes to a close triumphantly, three chords played with an energetic joy.

Play the fifth and sixth pieces back to back and the contrast is stunning.  It’s as though the  raw emotionality glimpsed in the Cavatina has given way to a more public sense of propriety – as though the composer has gotten himself back under control – the music is projected outward; his smile is back in place.

Final statement
The late string quartets are the only pieces Beethoven wrote in the last three years of his life.  By this time, poor, deaf, sick and alone, he is said to have poured all of his personal grief and regret into these brilliant pieces; sometimes weeping as he wrote.  It is a tragedy that the life of this creative genius ended so ignominiously, steeped in crippling loneliness.

Regardless, the music of this late string quartet is painfully immediate, at times relentlessly sad, and always achingly beautiful.  Since its writing it has arrested, transformed and affected countless listeners.  In researching this post, I discovered that there is actually a recording of this piece on the Voyager spacecraft, long since passed out of our solar system enroute to galactic points unknown.   Beethoven himself considered this to be the pinnacle of his musical achievement.

If I’m honest, I have to admit that I owe my erstwhile professor belated thanks for his passionate devotion to Beethoven.  Once a novice listener I am now a dedicated convert – with a belief in Beethoven ‘s astounding originality.

Take a listen yourself and tell me what you think…