My office this morning is the cafeteria in D&W.
We have many food stores in town, including two major chains – D&W is one; Meijer is the other.
D&W’s cafeteria is where I am this morning.
Since it would be the height of douchebaggery to just sit here taking up space, I bought a Starbucks Blonde Roast coffee (“That’ll be a pour over, is that okay?”), and a warmed blueberry scone.
And then I took up space.
A couple of older guys sit in front of me, jawing away about life. A much older old guy is behind me, his head on his chest. He’s asleep with a laptop on the table in front of him. (Hey, blogging is tiring work.)
I’ve been on Facebook all morning, listening to a new symphony – Beethoven’s Sixth – all the while. I must have heard this symphony a dozen times.
I have often wondered if starting both a new symphony and a return to the “A” of the alphabet might skew my view of the conductor (in this case, Abbado) who gets to introduce me to a new work by Beethoven. It usually takes me awhile to get into a new symphony, so it’s possible Maestro Abbado gets an unfair shake every time.
But I doubt it.
I’m fairly objective with my subjective opinions. 🙂
So this morning I find myself listening to Italian conductor Claudio Abbado (1933-2014), the Berliner Philharmoniker, and Bethooven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, Opus 68, also known as The Pastoral.
I’ve encountered Maestro Abbado five times prior to this morning, on…
Day 1. Rating: None.
Day 19. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 37. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 55. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 73. Rating: “Meh!”
What will today bring?
I don’t know. But I do know this: I’m not going to rate today’s performance until I’ve heard others from different conductors. I won’t know if this is any good until I’ve heard other conductors and other orchestras. It just wouldn’t be fair to Maestro Claudio or the Berliner Philharmoniker if I did otherwise.
So, here’s the background on Beethoven’s Sixth, according to its entry on Wikipedia,
The Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony (German: Pastorale), is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and completed in 1808. One of Beethoven’s few works containing explicitly programmatic content, the symphony was first performed in the Theater an der Wien on 22 December 1808 in a four-hour concert.
Beethoven was a lover of nature who spent a great deal of his time on walks in the country. He frequently left Vienna to work in rural locations. The composer said that the Sixth Symphony is “more the expression of feeling than painting”, a point underlined by the title of the first movement.
The first sketches of the Pastoral Symphony appeared in 1802. It was composed simultaneously with Beethoven’s more famous—and more fiery—Fifth Symphony. Both symphonies were premiered in a long and under-rehearsed concert in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 22 December 1808.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 6 in F major), from this particular conductor (Abbado, at age 75) and this particular orchestra (Berliner Philharmoniker), at this particular time in history (2008) on this particular record label (Deutsche Grammophon) is as follows:
I. Allegro ma non troppo………………………………………..11:32
“Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country”
II. Andante molto mosso………………………………………..10:41
“Scene by the brook”
III. Allegro…………………………………………………………………5:09
“Merry gathering of country folk”
IV. Allegro…………………………………………………………………..3:26
“Thunderstorm”
V. Allegretto……………………………………………………………….8:34
Total running time: 38:42
“Shepherd’s song: Happy and thankful feelings after the storm”
My Rating:
Recording quality: 5 (sounds flawless to me)
Overall musicianship: 5 (inspired, energetic, magical)
CD liner notes: 4 (liner notes consist of all necessary technical detail, plus an essay about Abbado’s approach to conducting Beethoven, translated into E/G/F/I, but virtually nothing about Beethoven himself or his symphonies)
How does this make me feel: 5 (“Huzzah!”)
Okay. I know I wasn’t going to rate this symphony. But I changed my mind.
This is light, fun, clever, compelling, and magical, a lovely rendition – regardless of how others do it.
I have to rate this “Huzzah!”
I love Beethoven’s titles for each movement; they helped draw me in from the very first.
“Thunderstorm” (Movement IV) was particularly cool. It’s actually reminiscent of a thunderstorm, with powerful cloudburst and everything.
This is an interesting symphony to follow the raucous Fifth. It’s serene and lovely. Soothing.
I’m sure I will analyze this in greater detail later. But, for now, I just want to let it wash over me.
And feel the feelings.
