Newswise — On the anniversary of Beethoven’s birthday (Dec. 16, 1770) the popularity of his music endures. Professor of Music David Levy, a Beethoven scholar and the author of “Beethoven: the Ninth Symphony” (Yale University Press 2003), says Beethoven, like Shakespeare, was a “superb craftsman.” Levy, who is teaching a class on Beethoven in the spring, is also working on a monograph on Beethoven’s symphonies. And, he will be working with the Audubon Quartet (the string quartet-in-residence at Shenandoah Conservatory) as they continue their cycle of the complete string quartets of Beethoven.
Why does Beethoven’s music remain so popular almost 200 years after his death?
Beethoven’s music remains popular, for many of the same reasons Shakespeare continues to maintain his hold on the popular imagination. Both figures were superb craftsmen—the one with tones, the other with words, who somehow revealed to their respective audiences a certain truth about the human condition. It is hardly surprising that Beethoven admired Shakespeare’s plays, and was himself identified by some contemporary critics as the “musical Shakespeare.” The fact that Beethoven's hearing became impaired, a condition that worsened as he grew older, remains compelling.
Is Beethoven’s music performed more often than that of other classical composers? Does his music show up in some unexpected places?
Beethoven's music certainly remains a staple for orchestras, pianists and string quartets in particular. Audience enthusiasm for a fine performance of almost any work by Beethoven never wanes. Many might recognize the opening measures of the scherzo from the Ninth Symphony, the original version of which was the theme music for NBC’s “Huntley/Brinkley Report,” and which has been adapted as the theme for “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC.
What fascinates you about the man and his music?
My fascination with Beethoven and his music began when I was very young. My parents took me to Carnegie Hall to hear Zino Franscescatti perform Beethoven's Violin Concerto with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. The sheer sublimity of the music swept me away and it still does. The difference now is that I've developed a deeper understanding of why that is so. Any composer who can produce such a deep and lasting effect on a person merits one's attention. I consider myself privileged to be known as a “Beethoven scholar.” I can’t possibly describe how it feels to hold an autograph score—or even a sketchbook leaf—in my hands. The more I contemplate and study Beethoven's music, the more I find. I think this holds true for every great work of art. If one thinks only of the gruff, frowning and tempestuous side of Beethoven's music, one misses a great deal. I still consider the works of his last decade, when his hearing was nearly completely gone, to be incomparable in its beauty and sublimity.
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