Do you love Beethoven?

I just finished reading an exciting book: "Do you love Beethoven?"^(*). It is written in French and I do not think that it is translated into English. I posted an article about it in the French version of my blog. This book overcomes many prejudices about classical music. For my part, I must say that I love it every day a little more: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Dvořàk, Richard Strauss, Mahler…

Listen to these two pieces. First a passage – the Cavatina – of one of Beethoven’s last quartets (Op. 130, n°13), played by the Quartetto Italiano, an old performance but played by outstanding musicians. Then, «Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen» (Where the Fine Trumpets Blow), from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Child’s Enchanted Horn), a work of Gustav Mahler. It is a loving dialogue on the background of war, splendidly sung by Lucia Popp, under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.

Fiodor

(*) Bruno ORY-LAVOLLÉE, Aimez-vous Beethoven? Éloge de la musique classique, Ed. Le Passeur, 2015, 254 p.