It's so exciting. I just watched an excellent bio of Beethoven, arguably the world's greatest composer. His music has inspired generations of musicians and moved generations of us listeners. And now I'm proud to see Chicago breaking new ground---putting on an expansive celebration of his genius: the Beethoven Festival 2011. This ambitious inaugural festival is designed to present Beethoven as man and muse. It features new portraits (he wasn't a bad-looking guy), new films, new music, and lots of Beethoven from morning 'til night.
Dates: Wednesday through Sunday, September 14 - 18.
Location: the Chicago Urban Art Society, 2229 S. Halsted, Chicago.
Cost: Festival passes from $20 to $180
Now since you and I are Chicago women-over-50, and Beethoven composed some of his greatest works after he turned 50, I wanted to find out what's special about being older---in terms both of what mature attendees might enjoy most, and of what we might expect from mature musicians. The renowned young composer, Mischa Zupko, who put together the New Music part of the Festival was kind enough to give me a little insight on those topics.
Q. Many of our baby boomer readers have limited budgets and some have limited energy. Naturally everyone has different tastes, but which events of the Festival would you recommend as potentially most exciting/rewarding?
A. This is a tough question to answer as it will all be first rate. The musicians on every concert are superb and beyond that, there is a level of brilliance behind the whole undertaking that will most definitely make all of this repertoire seem as if you are hearing it for the first time. If I had to choose just a few though, I might recommend:
- The opening concert on Wednesday at 4PM that features a great variety of music from Bach to Beethoven, everything from piano 4 hand music to a concerto grosso by Handel.
- The Academy concert, a 4 hour affair involving full orchestra in a manner that is consistent with Beethoven's famous Academy concert on December 22 in 1808.
- "Beethoven Today" which explores how Beethoven's overwhelming influence affected the future course of music.
- "The Bagatelle Project" which features 20 newly written pieces by mostly Chicago composers based on the "Ode to Joy" theme.
Q. Are there events you'd recommend for those who've had little exposure to Beethoven or to classical music in general but might like to dip a toe in?
A. I would say the Thursday evening concert at 8PM. This is less of a marathon than many of the other concerts and features a few well known violin sonatas by Beethoven as well as an arrangement of his famous "Kreutzer" sonata for String quintet. [BP: Even if you think you don't know Beethoven, you might find yourself humming along as you recognize some passages from watching Bugs Bunny cartoons when you were little!]
Q. Beethoven wrote one of his greatest works, the Ninth Symphony, when he was not only deaf but also past 50 years old. If you had to guess, how often do musicians past 50 succeed in writing brilliant works of music?
A. I would say most often. First of all, in order to write a brilliant work of music, a composer must have that very special gift, but given that, there is no substitute for experience in a craft that involves experimentation and constant revision. Beethoven himself exemplifies this paradigm in his work, and he most certainly created his most profound works after 50. When we look at the landscape of composers today and see figures like Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter (who is now over 100 years old) creating one masterwork after another, that only reinforces this notion.
Q. As a young composer and musician, what, if anything, special do you feel an older musician may be able to bring to a performance?
A. The role of a great performer involves as much experimentation and revision as that of a great composer. Therefore, an older musician brings a wisdom and perspective that has been gained through greater experience in dealing with the many ways a piece of music can be approached. Beyond this, there is a certain je ne sais quoi that is communicated in a performance by the depth of a one's life experience, which in most cases increases with age.
Q. You are curating two new music shows for the Beethoven Festival. What is the unifying theme behind each one--both the "Beethoven Today" and the "Bagatelle Project" performances?
A. “Beethoven Today” is really about the enormous influence that Beethoven's music exerted on the music that came after him up until the present day. His creative genius was so far ahead of its time that his contemporaries and immediate successors like Schubert and Brahms were often perplexed and even paralyzed trying to imagine a path forward after Beethoven. The overwhelming power of Beethoven's music, however, was ultimately a motivating factor in the musical revolution that followed and has brought us to the multitudinous ways in which music is imagined today.
The musical program consists of works written in the last 100 years and performed by Chicago's finest new music ensembles. Brief discussions of the relation between Beethoven's music and the music on the program will take place throughout.
The "Bagatelle" project was a real treat to put together. It is modeled on the Diabelli Variation project of 1819 where 51 different composers were solicited to write variations on a theme by Diabelli (for which Beethoven responded with a set of 33). Similarly, we solicited 20 composers to write Bagatelles (a common short form of historical significance, especially as relates to Beethoven) based on the "Ode to Joy" theme from the Finale of Beethoven's ninth symphony.
I'm not going to give anything away, but suffice it to say that the list of composers who responded to this call is quite impressive. Each piece within this set is unique in its approach and the quality of work is truly remarkable.
The Beethoven Festival 2011 is a collaboration between the International Beethoven Project and High Concept Laboratories. For more information, to view the full (very full!) schedule, and to buy tickets visit either of their websites or call 773.252.8550.
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