The Beethoven Project: the String Quartets

A few years ago I was at a chamber concert and one of the pieces on the bill was one of Beethoven's string quartets (I forget which one).  Someone in the audience in front of me sighed, "I do so love the late quartets," and I remember being blown away at the idea that "the late string quartets" was actually something that a non-musician could be so excited by. 

Recently I've realized that I'm not going to live forever (duh) and there is a lot of Beethoven that I would like to listen to during the rest of my time on earth.  And a lot of Schubert.  And Brahms.  That's not to mention Guesaldo or Tallis or Byrd.  So I need to get cracking, and not just in some sort of random form.  I need a plan.  I want to start off learning these string quartets - what makes the early ones different from the middle, or late ones.  I want to know these pieces really well.  They seem a really good jumping off point for really delving into Beethoven.  So each week I'm going to really listen to one of these string quartets, research it, and get to know it.  Live with it for the week and absorb it into my skin so that someday, when I'm at a concert, I can also say, "I do so love the middle string quartets," and actually know what that means.

So the first - Opus 18 number 1, String Quartet #1 in F major.
Here's a link on Spotify to the album I'm listening to:
Endellion String Quartet – Beethoven : Complete String Quartets, Quintets & Fragments

A quick Google search on Beethoven String Quartets brings up a number of sources, but my favorite is this one from Earsence.org. 

Here's what I've learned so far:

Haydn developed the string quartet.  Mozart first tried to master it when he was about 28.  In the late 1790's, 28 year old Beethoven, also newly arrived in Vienna, spent two years in deep study of the String Quartet, and the result of those two years was Opus 18, published in 1801, and dedicated to Haydn.

The first of the group, in F Major, was actually the second one he wrote.  And he revised it before it was published, telling a friend to not publish it yet, because he had studied so much more and now had a better idea of how to write a string quartet.

Even Beethoven's earlier music has so much depth and emotion - I wonder what 19th century audiences would have thought about it.  The second movement is based on Romeo and Juliet, and around halfway through I really started to notice the tension and haunting sounds.  The first movement uses a six note motif, something that was still relatively new - it's not quite a melody, but it dances around and repeats itself in different keys from different instruments the entire way through the movement.  It's like a kid learning to walk and explore, but still going back to his mother for comfort and familiarity.

The scherzo is short and sweet.  Some say it's almost a relief after the emotional second movement.  The final movement doesn't do much for me - it's very busy with lots of point and counterpoint, and I'm sure there's a ton of juiciness in this, but right now, I'm almost tired from listening to everything else, and it's lost on me.  I wonder if Beethoven's audiences felt the same way.  Beethoven is a demanding composer. 

I just realized there are, I think, 17 string quartets.  I am 22 weeks pregnant, so if all goes well, I will go on a Beethoven journey which will finish up right before I'm about to give birth!  How fun is that?

String Quartet Opus 18 Number 1 in F Major resources:
Liner notes from the Robert Simspon Society: http://robertsimpson.info/writings/simpsons-writings/beethoven-string-quartets.html
Earsence.org: http://www.earsense.org/chamberbase/works/detail/?pkey=33
All About Beethoven: http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/stringquartet.html
LCS Productions: http://www.lcsproductions.net/MusicHistory/MusHistRev/Articles/BeethovenStQrts.html

Project Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing

You know where I get lots of Deep Thoughts?  On long drives through the Central Valley coming home from my office in San Mateo.  On such a recent drive I was listening to Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt.  I consider myself pretty literate.  I read lots of books, both purely fun and also the challenging ones.  I use my library card a lot.  My kindle overfloweth.

But I haven't read any Shakespeare since college.

Seriously.  And that was in the 90's.

I feel shamed.  I have read books about Shakespeare, I read histories, I know quotes, but I haven't read any actual complete Shakespeare plays since around 1997.  The first Melrose Place was still on tv.

This train of thought winds up reminding me how very stuck I have become in life.  You know how when you're a teenager you're trying all kinds of new stuff, trying to figure out what you like and who you are?  You listen to Miles Davis just because, to see if you're a Jazz Person.  Somewhere along the line I made up my mind about the Kind of Person I am; what kind of music I like, what kinds of books I read, what kind of stuff I'm into - and I rarely deviate from that steady diet.

So it's time to broaden my horizons. 

I decided to start by reading Shakespeare.  Each week I'm going to immerse myself in one play.   After googling "what order should Shakespeare be read in," and seeing the passionate discussions, I decided there was no right answer, and randomly chose Much Ado About Nothing this week, because I heard that the movie with Kenneth Branagh was really good. 

After reading these awesome Shakespeare reading tips, I decided to start out this week by watching the movie, so I get a feel of what the story is about.  I have the play itself downloaded on my kindle, and the audiobook marked on Librivox.  I'm thinking that this is a good start to get to know this play.

I watched the movie today and am going to start listening while reading along tonight.  I think, after watching the movie, I'm going to enjoy this play a lot.  It seems quite clever.  Something I remembered from reading Shakespeare before is that, sadly, it takes me until practically the play is over until I start to become comfortable with the language.  So I think that having watched the movie to start with will serve me well.  

One thing I need to say to start with - after watching the movie, and having read a bit of the play, I'm really not a fan of Claudio.  That guy can't be trusted.  He freaks out over everything.  He says he loves Hero, but at the first test (and the second) he gets all stroppy and publicly humiliates her.  If I were her, I'd have slapped him and not taken him back.  Other than my disdain for Claudio, I'm a fan so far.

Much Ado About Nothing Links:
Wikipedia article with overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Ado_About_Nothing
Librivox audiobook: http://librivox.org/much-ado-about-nothing-by-william-shakespeare/
Info about the 1993 film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Ado_About_Nothing_(1993_film)
Spark Notes studyguide: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/
Cliff's Notes: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/much-ado-about-nothing/play-summary.html