Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Beethoven, the Concertos, and Leif Ove Andsnes - Further Reactions...

Recently, I had written a blog pertaining to my reactions to the recent recordings by the great Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, in his readings of four of the five concertos for piano by Beethoven.
Upon my second exposure  to these performances, some additional  reactions; in truth, a form of coruscation  has arisen   from  this particular listening, that promulgates some questions that had  never materialized  for me   in Beethoven's music heretofore:
In having dealt with the connection between the period called Sturm Und Drang (storm and stress)  and Beethoven's language, I had, through the years, simply connected the sense of hubris and drama associated with the play by Klinger that bears the title Sturm Und Drang, which first appeared on stage in 1777 and gave name to the period that lasted about a generation thereafter.
There are, of course, historical connections that can be read about the sense of drama  pertaining  to Beethoven's language, especially in such piano works as the  'Appassionata' or  'Waldstein'  sonatas, and the connection has for centuries been discussed and written about ad infinitum.
However, I have found, upon listening to Andsnes, that in some arcane  manner the pianist projects a sense of positivism throughout all four concertos while at the same time  reconfigures   the ways of traditional drama and ensuing power  which, for me, sublimates the entire aura of language design; an occurrence which I had never come close to contemplating  before.
For me, Andsnes has instilled a kind of  'inner peace' in the spiritual core of Beethoven which tells me more about  the nature of the Master, and his ultimate victory over personal tragedy.
If my words begin to appear rather turgid, do please know that I find it essentially impossible to describe that which I have heard - I can only listen, and make an attempt at coming to understand what I have heard.

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