Jed Gaylin, Music Director

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1616 Pacific Ave., Suite 308 * Atlantic City, NJ 08401

www.bayatlanticsymphony.org

How Music Talks: PAINTING with Sound!

Pieter Bruegel: The Harvesters (1565)

2 Bay Atlantic Symphony Study Guide Education Concerts—May 2019 “How Music Talks: Painting with Sound!” Dear New Jersey Educators,

Thank you for participating in the Bay Atlantic Symphony’s Young People's Concerts!

I am extremely grateful for and appreciative of the tremendous effort, skill, stamina, and artistry it takes to be a classroom teacher. I believe I have provided all materials that you would need to give students an excellent doorway into the pieces we are performing. The only supplies the classroom teacher should need are the ability to purchase and play a CD or to download mp3 files (Amazon) and play them on loud enough speakers, and crayons if desired. The pre- and post- concert activities have been kept simple in part because I understand that some “classrooms” are not all that well-equipped. That said, this simplicity also fits my educational philosophy. I believe the activities supporting these concerts should not be a distraction from the event of the concert.

As teachers, of course, you are in the position of developing many skills and sensitivities that go into music-making and music appreciation. The point of taking students to the concert hall is to reinforce just that non-classroom side of art—the open-ended, slow-breathing, undistracted, concentrated joy of an encounter with something sublime. Once students taste this nectar, they are more inspired to sit down in the classroom and learn about the composer, the instruments, or even STEM and the history and culture that could lead someone to create the Eroica Symphony, ‘Round Midnight, Guernica, or Hamlet.

Our 2019 program continues our program of “how music talks.” This year, we are calling our concerts: “How Music Talks, painting with sound!” The emphases in this program are 1) specific sounds and the images those sounds portray especially in orchestration and melody and 2) how those sounds, those aural pictures, paint a story, or paint feelings. This year we are performing both an unfamiliar work, and a very familiar work (at least to the teachers), featured in Walt Disney’s Fantasia: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastoral. For our new work, we will perform a world premiere by an American composer Amanda Harberg. In fact, Amanda is based in New Jersey.

It may be cliché that music is a universal language. Cliché or no, we have two vastly differing pieces: one written by a living New Jersey composer. In Beethoven’s we have a work written exactly 200 years ago, by a German composer. But, in both works, we find music as a powerful, descriptive expression that awakens our feelings. At any given moment, various instruments shed different colors and paint different aural scenes. We will highlight some of these scenes in these two colorful, sumptuous pieces.

I deeply hope you and your students enjoy these pieces, and this presentation!

On the basis of overwhelming positive feedback I am maintaining a feature we introduced in previous years: As discussion becomes in depth, optional discussion is set off in green print, allowing you to quickly choose whether to press on, or elaborate.

Sincerely,

Jed Gaylin, DMA Music Director, Bay Atlantic Symphony 3

How Music Talks: Painting with Sound! Bay Atlantic Symphony Education Concerts May 2019

Table of Contents

Letter to teachers.………………………………………………………………………….2 Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………….3 Concert Program and Objectives…………………………………………….....…….. 4 - 5 Pre-Concert Activities (overview) and Objectives…….………...…………………....6 - 7 Post-Concert Activities and Objectives ……………...……………………...……………8 Pre-Concert Activities (in detail, verbatim)………….…………………………...…..9 - 16 Primary Pre-Concert activity: SCRIPT for classroom Biography: Beethoven (courtesy of Wikipedia)………….………………………….17 - 21 Biography: Amanda Harberg…………………………………………………...…...22 - 24 Map of central Europe (Germany, Austria)……………………………………………....25 Map of the Mid-Atlantic United States (New Jersey)……………………………………26 (Maps courtesy of Apple Maps)

4 Bay Atlantic Symphony Education Concerts: May 2019 Study Guides PAGE 4: CONCERT PROGRAM ( = ACTIVITIES), AND OBJECTIVES

CONCERTS: Landis Theater, Vineland—Friday May 3, 2019 Stockton PAC, Galloway—Tuesday May 7, 2019 Program (Repertoire): Symphony No. 6, Pastoral………………………Ludwig van Beethoven Movements 3-4-5 (all connected without break) The Sleeping Gypsy (World Premiere)………………….Amand Harberg Suggested CD: Amazon (direct links below): 1) Beethoven Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”, “Egmont” Overture. Sony Essential Classics. Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell. This CD is a superbargain at $4..44, and can also be downloaded via mp3. If you want to do that, we only need the last three movements from the symphony. Amazon direct link: http://www.amazon.com/Symphonies-Nos-Ludwig-van- Beethoven/dp/B00005YDLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid= 1202742024&sr=1-1 2) There is no CD for this world premiere. I don’t yet have the score myself! However, here is a link to work of Amanda Harberg, who has been commissioned internationally including the Philadelphia orchestra. She has been reviewed in the New York Times, and her music performed in the most prestigious venues in New York and the region. 3) IMPORTANT: I have used very specific timings for the in-class discussion that will only apply to Beethoven CD. It is STRONGLY recommended that you use that recording which is a classic. Though recorded in the 60’s the sound quality is exceptional. Make sure you get the recording with the George Szell and Cleveland (NOT New York). Concert Objectives: 1) To expose students to an exciting live performance and rehearsal of great symphonic music, and subtly interweave notions of instrumentation, structure, music history, social studies, ethnomusicology, poetry, and other disciplines. 2) To give students the chance to concentrate on something aesthetic, multifaceted, and open-ended without feeling limited by an encounter that is purely quantitative. 3) To provide the opportunity for students to develop an emotional, aesthetic, or even analytical response to music. 4) To help students realize the dramatic, narrative, and associative qualities of music, To help provide contexts—rhythmic patterns, metaphors, or language—that foster an engaged response to the works. 5) To teach students elements of theme (tune), musical meter, musical phrase (sentence) structure, and orchestration to discover simple musical form and expression. 6) To bring home the idea that “just listening,” concentrating with an interactive imagination and absorbing, IS participating. This is how artists, composers, writers synthesize and interact with their environment. Only after such immersion is “creativity” or the visible, tangible side of the creative act possible. Oliver Sachs, in 5 his most recent book, Musicophelia, describes in great detail how interactive one’s brain is listening to music well. It is in no way a “passive” activity. 7) To give some historical and otherwise factual background to the music being performed. Other disciplines that are involved in this concert, pre-concert, and post- concert activities include: language, poetry and meter, mathematics, abstraction, written expression, aesthetics, meteorology, Western history, art history, Chinese history, geography, and philosophy. 8) To give students an understanding of how detailed, specific, and sophisticated, yet enjoyable it is to work together (as an orchestra does) for a simultaneous common goal.

6 Bay Atlantic Symphony Education Concerts: May 2019 Study Guides PAGE 6: PRE-CONCERT ACTIVITIES OVERVIEW (P-CA) AND OBJECTIVES

Pre-Concert Activities (verbatim: SEE Pages 8-14). The script is the primary Pre- Concert Activity.

P-CA) PRIMARY Pre-Concert Activity (P-CA 1 - 4)—Script: Read aloud and discuss (pages 8 - 14 ). Feel free to use Background information (pp. 15 - 28), which has some additional historical and geographical information. NB: OPTIONAL P-CAs are my suggestions as to those that you might omit if you are short on time. Clearly, you as the teacher should pick and choose those P-CAs that you feel are most appropriate (and enjoyable!) for you and your classes.

NB: The remaining P-CAs are embedded in the text of the script (PAGES 8 -14 ). You only need to follow the script, which will guide you as to appropriate times to undertake the following activities . The script will refer at appropriate moments to activity P-CA2), activity P-CA3), etc.

OBJECTIVES of pre-concert activities: 1) To familiarize the students with the music they will hear in the concert. 2) To highlight narrative and expressions in music. By highlighting orchestration and unusual sonorities and musical themes, students will gain an understanding of how music can paint a picture, and also how music is structured. 3) To provide context—artistic, historical, musical, cultural for the music they will hear so the students can more easily relate the music to other disciplines they are studying. It is also very likely that exposure to this may actually awaken an interest in other areas of study. 4) IMPORTANT: To allow students the chance to explore the non-quantitative and intuitive side of music, the mysterious, magic of music (and art in general). 5) To give students an understanding of the most basic building blocks in music, such as: melody, rhythm, motives, orchestration, and dynamics. 6) To give students several different ways of listening to the music: open-ended/multi- sensory, instrumentational, structural, comparative (using different building blocks— above #5) as they come up. 7) To develop students’ ability to discuss music, art, and other non-quantitative subjects. 8) To develop students’ ability to write about art and music in a subjective manner. 9) To develop students' understanding that performing (singing) and listening to orchestral music are just different facets of the same basic activity. 7 Bay Atlantic Symphony Education Concerts: May 2019 Study Guides PAGE 7: POST-CONCERT ACTIVITIES AND OBJECTIVES

Possible Post-Concert Activities could include:

1) Asking the students to describe their response to hearing a piece performed. 2) Asking the students to compare how the orchestra playing a passage helped them understand how music can paint a picture. 3) Asking the students how the performance differed from hearing the CD in class. Was there a different mood? Was it more charged? Was it exciting to know that there would be no interruptions, and that the concert was an “uncorrectable” situation? Did the “nowness” of the concert lead to more engagement than the demonstrations or classroom listening? Less? Why? 4) Asking the students how the discipline of musicians’ learning their instruments so well compares to that of a swimmer or football player. (Again, try to avoid “more” or “less” in favor of what ways musical and athletic discipline might be similar or different.) 5) Asking the students to draw to an excerpt (playing it again on CD) they heard, free-form. (IMPORTANT: Though it seems we have been repeating music over and over again, it is usually during exactly this kind of reinvestigation that true discovery—artistic, athletic, scientific—occurs. Illustrious examples who have documented this process include Einstein, Da Vinci, Tolstoy, Scott Hamilton, Beethoven, etc.) Asking them if they had a different sense of the music, now after hearing it more and in concert. Asking them, if so, how it is reflected in their drawings. 6) Asking the students to draw pictures of the orchestra, soloist, and/or conductor. 7) Asking the students to write about any or any combination of the following—Probably better to give them lots of time for a couple questions, rather than too many questions and no time: a) How does this piece make you feel? b) What sounds did you hear? c) How do the musicians of the orchestra communicate with each other? with the audience? with the conductor? d) How different is it seeing the orchestra live, from listening to the music on the CD? e) Why do you think the composer wrote for so many instruments? f) Which instrument(s) is/are your favorite? Why? h) Why do we need to have music? art? concerts? dance? plays? film? I) Which was your favorite piece? Why? j) Why do we need to have audiences? k) Which would you most want to be: a composer, a conductor, orchestral musician? soloist? Why? l) Contemporary Playwright Bridget Carpenter described in an interview the fact that people did not understand that a large part of her “work” was just sitting and thinking, absorbing, letting ideas come. Then the other half her time she spends writing after she has slowed her thinking down so she can really hear her thoughts. What do you think of that idea? Is listening to music like that? m) After hearing this music, how would you describe the world of the symphony? Do you think Beethoven’s symphony sounded the same to them, living in Europe 8 in 1808 as it does to us in the US today in 2019? How about the Erhu for people who live in China?

OBJECTIVES of post-concert activities:

1) To reinforce the excitement of an engaging live performance of great symphonic music. 2) To give students an understanding of the rigors and joys of musical performance, and, by extension, any application to a group discipline. 3) To unlock the notion of ideas in art. 4) To give students further chance to concentrate on something aesthetic, multifaceted, and open-ended without feeling limited by purely quantitative encounter. 5) To provide the opportunity for students to deepen an emotional, aesthetic, or even analytical response to music they have heard and studied. To deepen their budding relationship to these pieces. 6) To deepen the students’ contexts and facility with the language with which music talks. 7) To bring home the idea that “just listening,” concentrating with an interactive imagination, absorbing, IS participating. This is how artists, composers, writers synthesize and interact with their environment. Only after such immersion is “creativity” or the visible, tangible side of the creative act possible. 8) To gently reinforce some cultural or historical background to the music being performed. Such points, I think, are most effective when lightly scored. The students will probably respond well to question m (above), which should accomplish this objective.

9 Bay Atlantic Symphony Education Concerts: May 2019 Study Guides PAGE 9: PRIMARY PRE-CONCERT ACTIVITY (P-CA1-PCA9): Script Background, musical examples, (To be read to students and discussed)

One note: These pre-concert activities could fill 2-3 full @45-minute class periods. However, one could pick and choose if necessary, or do one segment of it in less time. It is a more detailed version of the script I will use for the concerts. We will probably deviate somewhat from this script. You will be the best judge as to how much class time you have to devote to this, and how much you will need. It will work most effectively with the suggested CD mentioned (p. 1) under repertoire

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN F MAJOR, PASTORAL

P-CA1 : Even before you mention Beethoven or the Symphony, play the beginning of the third movement (Band 7). You should play it until you think the class is getting a good sense of the mood, or you could play the whole thing (5:34) if they seem into it right away.

P-CA2) : “Today we are going to explore how symphony orchestras can paint a picture. In fact we will listen to a piece of music that paints a picture, but without paper, paints, or brushes. The paper in fact, is your imagination. The paint is the sounds you will hear. And the brushes are the instruments of the orchestra. The piece is by music’s most famous composer, ‘Beethoven.’ Can you all say ‘Beethoven?’” Have them repeat it until they are comfortable. “His whole name was ‘Ludwig van Beethoven’. Does anyone know what countries he lived in, and where he was from? That’s right, Germany and Austria, in the city especially of Vienna. So ‘Ludwig’ is just the German name for ‘Louis.’ Beethoven wrote many famous pieces. One of his great pieces for orchestra is his 6th Symphony. This piece was featured in the movie Fantasia. It is also called the ‘pastoral’ Symphony. Does anyone know what ‘pastoral’ means? Pastoral means something having to do with nature. He could have called it the ‘nature’ Symphony, or the ‘countryside’ Symphony. But the word pastoral also hints at something having to do with people living in the country, too. People farming or attending to animals.

P-CA 3 (hearing the CD): “First, let’s listen to the tune for one of the livelier parts that Beethoven has written for us. It is lively, but starts quietly, so you’ll have to listen carefully” (CD BAND 7, 00:00 – 00:56)

“Did the music stay quiet the whole time?” (no.) How does the music sound to you?” You might steer them to anything playful, dance-like, peasant-like, pastoralish, cheerful, etc. Dance and folk dance (maybe even “River Dance” is an especially good starting point for the rest of the discussion.

“Let’s hear the third movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. A ‘movement’ of a symphony is like a chapter in a book. It tells a large chunk of the story. This movement, or chapter is about 5 minutes long. It is in fact a dance and Beethoven has given this movement the following description: ‘cheerful to be with the country-folk.’ Every 8 10 counts new people are involved in the dance. It’s as though there are two lines in the country dance, and each group salutes or plays off the other

Play CD and narrate below: band 7 (entire) and allow it to move into band 8 (starts just at 5:34 of band 7). Narrate the various sounds as you go. You probably do not need to do much stop and start, but can just use times on the to flag elements in the musical landscape of the story, as the CD is playing. Feel free to leave out some of the signposts I have provided, if you feel it is too much talk, or that the class is getting it. 00:00 “The beginning of the dance. 00:05 “The second group of dancers 00:10 “The first group again 00:15 “The 2nd group 00:20 “The first 00:25 “The 2nd, and now all together 00:54 “Now it quiets down for a solo dancer; you will hear the oboe.

01:16 “The clarinet takes over; there is more than one showoff!

11 01:23 “And the horn, each one more lively than the last

01:43 “Now the whole crowd joins in—a very vigorous foot stomping dance” (music teachers only: you can show the difference between a fast one and this more deliberate 2/4 if you like here) 02:25 “A complete break, things got a little out of hand, people falling down…so let’s begin all over, calm again 02:32 “2nd group of dancers 02:37 “The first group again 02:42 “The 2nd group 02:47 “The first 02:52 “The 2nd, and now all together 03:22 “Now it quiets down for a solo dancer; you will hear the oboe. 03:43 “The clarinet takes over; there is more than one showoff! 03:50 “And the horn, each one more lively than the last 04:08 “Now the whole crowd joins in—a very vigorous foot stomping dance, just as before” 04:52 “again a complete stop, it’ll all begin a 3rd time, but with a difference

12 05:04 “an interruption…you see, this movement leads directly into the next, the Storm, so the people are moving quickly to avoid the downpour

05:34/Band 8—00:00 “The beginning of the 4th movement, storm” (allow to play till 01:00). Then STOP AND: 1) IF YOU HAVE TIME, repeat the third movement, when get to the storm, go to the narration below You might leave out some description this time, or let the students add some. 2) IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME, start again at band 8 and use the following narration. 00:03 “light rain drops” 00:06 “a menacing breeze 00:12 “the wind kicking up 00:17 “raindrops again, in the violins 00:25 “Here comes the full storm, and full orchestra 00:45 “Thunder and lightening 00:59 “more lightening 02:06 “the piccolo as the highest screeching wind of the storm”

02:31 “final blasts 02:42 “the storm moves out 03:07 “thunder in the distance 03:27 “a rainbow in the oboe 03:34 “and more colors to the rainbow….leads to ….the fifth movement

13

03:47/Band 9—00:00 “5th movement: The clarinet offers a melody, from one hilltop 00:09 “The horn replies from another hilltop 00:20 “violins begin the main tune

00:40 “it’s repeated, more fully with more instruments 00:57 “finally the horns sing it out in full glory 01:12 STOP and Pause “Beethoven called this last movement: Shepherd’s Song: Happy and thankful Feelings after the storm” It is in fact a hymn. We can add some words—these are NOT Beethoven’s—to this hymn. Something like this: (sing to demonstrate with the main tune we have just heard)

“Thank You, we thank You The Storm has blown away. Along the stream’s bank, you Can now come out—it’s Okay!”

Have the students sing this, as many times as you can.

“Beethoven will play this tune a lot in the beginning, as we heard, and then he will alternate it with other melodies and detours in the orchestra. But the tune comes back. Here’s the catch: when it comes back it’s usually varied, or changed. That means that you can ‘hear’ the tune—kind of—in the background, and Beethoven hints at it and keeps the harmony the same, so you ‘feel’ the tune, but he doesn’t usually give it to us as we have heard it. This is very much how a jazz musician improvises. A jazz musician will play music that fits in with the tune that he or she is improvising on. Sometimes, Beethoven will hint at the tune and then abandon it. It’s as though he is teasing us, reminding us about it, but saying, ‘no don’t really mean it—yet.’ Then, when the real tune comes back it’s even more satisfying. Let’s hear the movement, and we 14 can lightly sing along when the tune (we call it a ‘theme’ in music) returns.” (play all of Band 9 with the guide below, telling you when to have the class lightly sing the tune, with lyrics, along with the CD.

00:00 “Clarinet introduction 00:09 “Horn replies. 00:18 “Here’s the theme.” (sing lyrics: Thank you, etc.) 00:40 2nd time 00:57 3rd time 02:20 “The theme” (sing with them) 02:40 sing again, but it stops after, “Thank you we thank you the storm has blown away.” 02:58 “Now Beethoven takes us to a more cheerful tune, in the clarinets. 03:40 “A hint of the theme” 04:18 “A variation! Follow the tune.” (sing along if you can) 04:37 Again 04:54 Again 05:09 “From here the variations turn away more and more. It’s as though we have given our hymn of thanks, and then we go about our lives, still having those feelings as we move along in our day.” 08:44 “Here, Beethoven gives us a final moment of calm and thought enjoying the peace and beauty of a nature restored to quiet after the playful dance and fierce storm.”

P-CA 4: Play all three interconnected movements through. Sign-post various elements as indicated above, but maybe only highlighting the biggest moves, such as the return to the original dance music in the 3rd movement, the beginning of the storm (4th movement), thunder and lightening, and the rainbow. Also highlight the beginning of the 5th movement and the hymn theme.

OPTIONAL P-CA 5: “Beethoven himself said about the Pastoral Symphony that it was ‘more an expression of moods than painting.’ Yet the program you will be attending is called, ‘how music can paint.’ Do you think music can ‘paint pictures?’ How about just paint moods? Certainly, we can with our modern technology give a more ‘exact’ impression of the sounds of a storm. Beethoven could probably, even with the instruments in his orchestra made the orchestra sound more ‘realistic.’ Why do think he chose not to? What is gained by showing something exactly? Why do painters not always want to make their paintings look just like a photograph? Is art supposed to always try to be as close to ‘real life’ as possible? Why not?”

NB: If skipping the following 2 optional p-ca’s go to page 13 for a p-ca 8 about the erhu.

15 OPTIONAL P-CA 6: (advanced) Hymn Meter: “Beethoven uses ‘hymn meter’ for his theme in the last movement of the Pastoral Symphony. In poetry we talk about ‘stresses.’ A stress simply means a word that receives a little extra umph when you say it. Hymn meter alternates a line with four stresses, and a line with three stresses. Then this pattern repeats. Here is our ‘poem,’ our words that we fit to Beethoven’s music. I will show you with my hand the ‘stresses.’

THANK YOU we THANK YOU 1 2 3 4 The STORM has BLOWN a-WAY. 1 2 3 a-LONG THE stream’s BANK, YOU 1 2 3 4 can NOW come OUT—it’s O-kay! 1 2 3

“Another poem that is hymn meter, not surprisingly, is the hymn, Amazing Grace. Most poems by the famous American writer Emily Dickinson are in hymn meter. Here is a particularly beautiful one that follows that pattern. (Note, the hymn meter means the first line one needs to emphasize the word “is.” So knowledge of the meter pattern helps us figure out how to read the poem:

Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without words, And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea: Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.

OPTIONAL P-CA 7: Play the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony (or if you prefer the same three, or one of the three movements you have been working on.. Ask students to write or discuss further their reactions to the music. Questions can be direct (with clear choice) as well as open-ended. Also, please feel free to point out any observations that will help them remember and have closer contact with the music. Here is a chance to really show enthusiasm for the music, too. Here are some questions, but please feel free to explore others as they arise: Direct: I) Is this piece generally a) loud or soft? b) fast or slow c) (if applicable) bumpy or smooth (or both, at different times)?, awkward or graceful? d) beautiful? scary? grand (big) or secretive (private, mysterious)? Open-ended: II) How else does the music make you feel? 16 Open-ended: III) When you shut your eyes, do you see anything in particular? (I would try NOT to steer them towards any specific image.) Direct: IV) What instruments do you hear? Open-ended: V) In what other ways do you do think each of these pieces are like each other? How are they different? Open-ended: VI) Why is harmony important in music? Rhythm? Instrumentation (using different instruments)? How do different kinds of harmony change the mood of the music? (There is really more than one “right” answer for this) Does all music tell a story? (No right answer!)

P-CA 9 (very optional): CLOSING: “We have spent some time in class now becoming familiar with two beautiful pieces of music. You will get to hear the music played live by the Bay Atlantic Symphony. Nothing that you hear on a CD can compare to the excitement of hearing a live orchestra and being a part of a live audience that actively listens! We can have more discussions about the orchestra and the pieces you hear after the concert. I can’t wait to hear the concert myself, because being part of an audience in a concert is one of the most magical experiences in life!”

(see next page for biographical sketches of Beethoven and Amanda Harberg) 17 Ludwig van Beethoven From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Beethoven" redirects here. For other uses, see Beethoven (disambiguation).

A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (December 16, 1770 [1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and virtuoso pianist. He was an important figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. Born in Bonn, Germany, he moved to Vienna, Austria, in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his twenties, yet he continued to compose masterpieces, and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf. Contents

Biography Further information: Life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven and Van Beethoven Family Early life and talent

Kurfürstliches Schloss (Electoral Prince's Castle) in Bonn, where the Beethoven family had been active since the 1730s Beethoven's parents were Johann van Beethoven (1740 in Bonn –1792) and Maria Magdalena Keverich (1744 in Ehrenbreitstein–1787). Magdalena's father Johann Heinrich Keverich had been Chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier at Festung Ehrenbreitstein fortress opposite to Koblenz.[2] Beethoven was, like their first child Ludwig Maria, named after his father's father Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–1773), a musician of Roman Catholic Flemish ancestry who was at one time Kapellmeister at the court of Clemens August of Bavaria, the Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, and who married Beethoven's grandmother Maria Josepha Ball (1714–1775) in 1733. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. Of the seven children born to Johann Beethoven, himself the only survivor of three, only second-born Ludwig and two younger brothers survived infancy. Beethoven was baptized on December 17, 1770.[3][4] Although his birth date is not known for certain, his family celebrated his birthday on December 16.

A portrait of the thirteen-year-old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn master Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, who was a tenor in the service of the Electoral court at Bonn. He was reportedly a harsh instructor. Johann later engaged a friend, Tobias Pfeiffer, to preside over his son's musical training, and it is said Johann and his friend would at times come home late from a night of drinking to pull young Ludwig out of bed to practice until morning. Beethoven's talent was recognized at a very early age, and by 1778 he was studying the organ and viola in addition to the piano. His most important teacher in Bonn was Christian Gottlob Neefe,[5] who was the Court's Organist. Neefe helped Beethoven publish his first composition: a set of keyboard variations. In 1787, the young Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, in hopes of studying with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is not clear whether he succeeded in meeting Mozart, or if he did whether Mozart was willing to accept him as a pupil; see Mozart and Beethoven. In any event, the declining health of Beethoven's mother, dying of tuberculosis, forced him to return home after only about two weeks in Vienna. Beethoven's mother died on July 17, 1787, when Beethoven was 16.[6] 18 Due to his father's worsening alcohol addiction, Beethoven became responsible for raising his two younger brothers. The move to Vienna In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied for a time with Joseph Haydn: his hopes of studying with Mozart had been shattered by Mozart's death the previous year. Beethoven received additional instruction from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (Vienna's pre- eminent counterpoint instructor) and Antonio Salieri. By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso.[7] His first works with opus numbers, a set of three piano trios, appeared in 1795. He settled into the career pattern he would follow for the remainder of his life: rather than working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done), he supported himself through a combination of annual stipends or single gifts from members of the aristocracy; income from subscription concerts, concerts, and lessons; and proceeds from sales of his works. Beethoven’s patrons loved his music but were not quick to support him. He eventually came to rely more on patrons such as Count Franz Joseph Kinsky, (d. 1811), Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz (1772-1816) and Karl Alois Johann-Nepomuk Vinzenz, Fürst Lichnowsky, and as these patrons passed away or reneged on their pledges, Beethoven fell into debt. In 1807, Prince Lobkowitz advised Beethoven to apply for the position of composer of the Imperial Theatres, but the nobility who had newly been placed in charge of the post did not respond. Beethoven considered leaving Vienna: in the fall of 1808, he was offered a position as chapel maestro at the court of Jerome Bonaparte, the king of Westphalia, which he accepted. To persuade him to stay in Vienna, the Archduke Rudolf, Count Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, after receiving representations from the composer’s friends, pledged to pay Beethoven a pension of 4000 florins a year. Only Archduke Rudolf paid his share of the pension on the agreed date. Kinsky, immediately called to duty as an officer, did not contribute and soon died after falling from his horse. Lobkowitz stopped paying in September 1811. No successors came forward to continue the patronage, and Beethoven relied mostly on selling composition rights and a smaller pension after 1815. Loss of hearing

Beethoven in 1803 Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.[8] He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. He lived for a time in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside Vienna. Here he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, which records his resolution to continue living for and through his art. Over time, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep.[9] Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent his composing music, but it made concerts—lucrative sources of income—increasingly difficult. Beethoven used a special rod attached to the soundboard on a piano that he could bite—the vibrations would then transfer from the piano to his jaw to increase his perception of the sound. A large collection of his hearing aids such as special ear horns can be viewed at the Beethoven House Museum in Bonn, Germany. By 1814 Beethoven was totally deaf, and when visitors saw him play a loud arpeggio or thundering bass notes at his piano remarking, "Ist es nicht schön?" (Isn't that beautiful?), they felt deep sympathy, and saw his courage and sense of humor.[10]

Ludwig van Beethoven: As a result of Beethoven's hearing loss, a unique historical record has been preserved: his conversation books. His friends wrote in the book so that he could know what they were 19 saying, and he then responded either verbally or in the book. The books contain discussions about music and other issues, and give insights into his thinking; they are a source for investigation into how he felt his music should be performed, and also his perception of his relationship to art. Some of the conversation books were altered or destroyed after Beethoven's death by Anton Schindler.[11] Illness and death After Beethoven lost custody of his nephew, he went into a decline that led to his death on March 26, 1827 during a thunderstorm. [12] Romain Rolland's description Beethoven’s final day: "That day was tragic. There were heavy clouds in the sky… around 4 or 5 in the afternoon the murky clouds cast darkness in the entire room. Suddenly a terrible storm started, with blizzard and snow… thunder made the room shudder, illuminating it with the cursed reflection of lightning on snow. Beethoven opened his eyes and with a threatening gesture raised his right arm towards the sky with his fist clenched. The expression of his face was horrifying. His hand fell to the ground. His eyes closed. Beethoven was no more." A Viennese pathologist and forensic expert Christian Reiter (head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna Medical University) claimed that Beethoven's physician, Andreas Wawruch, inadvertently hastened Beethoven's death. According to Reiter, Wawruch worsened Beethoven's already lead poisoned condition with lead poultices applied after repeated surgical draining of his bloated abdomen. Various theories attempt to explain how Beethoven's lead poisoning first developed, and he was very sick years before his death in 1827 at the age of 56.[13] Reiter's hypothesis however is at odds with Wawruch's written instruction "that the wound was kept dry all the time". Furthermore human hair is a very bad biomarker for lead contamination and Reiter's hypothesis must be considered dubious, because of the lack of proper scholarly documentation in his article.[14]

Character Beethoven's personal life was troubled. His encroaching deafness led him to contemplate suicide (documented in his Heiligenstadt Testament). Beethoven was often irascible, and may have suffered from bipolar disorder,[15] and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain beginning in his 20s which has been attributed to his lead poisoning.[13] He nevertheless had a close and devoted circle of friends all his life, thought to have been attracted by his reputed strength of personality. Towards the end of his life, Beethoven's friends competed in their efforts to help him cope with his incapacities.[16] Sources show Beethoven's disdain for authority, and for social rank. He stopped performing at the piano if the audience chatted among themselves, or afforded him less than their full attention. At soirées, he refused to perform if suddenly called upon to do so. Eventually, after many confrontations, the Archduke Rudolph decreed that the usual rules of court etiquette did not apply to Beethoven.[17] Romantic difficulties The women who attracted Beethoven were unattainable because they were either married or aristocratic. Beethoven never married, although he was engaged to Giulietta Guiccardi. Her father was the main obstacle to their marriage. Giulietta's marriage to a nobleman was unhappy, and when it ended in 1822, she attempted unsuccessfully to return to Beethoven. His only other documented love affair with an identified woman began in 1805 with Josephine von Brunswick, young widow of the Graf von Deym. It is believed the relationship ended by 1807 because of Beethoven's indecisiveness and the disapproval of Josephine's aristocratic family.[18] In 1812, Beethoven wrote a long love letter to a woman he identified only as "Immortal Beloved". Several candidates have been suggested, including Antonie Brentano, but the identity of the woman to whom the letter was written has never been proven. 20 Custody struggle [19] On 15 November 1815 Beethoven's brother Karl van Beethoven died of tuberculosis leaving a son Karl, Beethoven's nephew. Although Beethoven had shown little interest in the boy up to this point, he now became totally obsessed with the possession of this nine year old child. The fight for custody of his nephew brought out the very worst aspects of Beethoven's character.[20] In the lengthy court cases Beethoven stopped at nothing to ensure that he achieved this goal. At this time Beethoven stopped composing for long periods. The Austrian court system had one court for the nobility, The R&I Landrechte, and another for commoners, The Civil Court of the Magistrate. Beethoven disguised the fact that the Dutch "van" in his name did not denote nobility as does the Germanic "von",[21] and his case was tried in the Landrechte. Due to his influence with the court, he felt assured of a favorable outcome. Beethoven was awarded sole guardianship. Karl's mother, Johanna, a commoner and a widow with little money, was not only refused access to her son, except under exceptional circumstances, but Beethoven insisted that she pay for her son's education out of her inadequate pension. While giving evidence to the Landrechte, however, Beethoven inadvertently[22] admitted that he was not nobly born. The case was transferred to the Magistracy on 18 December 1818, where he lost sole guardianship. Beethoven appealed, and regained custody of Karl. Johanna's appeal for justice and human rights to the Emperor was not successful: the Emperor "washed his hands of the matter". Beethoven stopped at nothing to blacken both their characters, as can be read in surviving court papers. When Karl could stand his tyrannical uncle no longer, he attempted suicide on 31 July 1826 by shooting himself in the head. He survived, and later asked to be taken to his mother's house. This desperate action finally freed Karl from the bonds of Beethoven. Beliefs and their musical influence

Beethoven in 1823; copy of a destroyed portrait by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller Beethoven was attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment and by the growing Romanticism in Europe. He initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), to Napoleon, believing that the general intended to sustain the democratic and republican ideals of the French Revolution. But in 1804, when Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, Beethoven took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently that he created a hole in the paper. He later changed the title to "Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand Uomo" ("Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the advent of a great Man"). The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting of Schiller's Ode An die Freude ("Ode to Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity. Since 1972, an orchestral version of this part of the fourth movement, arranged by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, has been the European anthem as announced by the Council of Europe. In 1985 it was adopted as the anthem of the European Community / European Union. Scholars disagree about Beethoven's religious beliefs, and about the role they played in his work: see Ludwig van Beethoven's religious beliefs. It has been asserted, but not proven, that Beethoven was a Freemason.[23] Like the earlier composer Handel, Beethoven worked freelance—arranging subscription concerts, selling his compositions to publishers, and gaining financial support from a number of wealthy patrons—rather than seeking out permanent employment by the church or by an aristocratic court.

Music Further information: Beethoven's musical style and innovations, Beethoven and C minor, and List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven 21 Beethoven is acknowledged as one of the giants of Western classical music; occasionally he is referred to as one of the "three Bs" (along with Bach and Brahms) who epitomize that tradition. He was also a pivotal figure in the transition from 18th century musical classicism to 19th century romanticism, and his influence on subsequent generations of composers was profound.[24] Overview He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or "germ-motives," to achieve inter-movement unity in long compositions. Equally remarkable was his use of "source-motives," which recurred in many different compositions. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the well-crystallized form of the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, and also bringing it closer to sonata form. Beethoven composed in various genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, an opera, and Lieder. He is viewed as one of the most important transitional figures between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. Beethoven adopted the principles of sonata form and motivic development that he inherited from Haydn and Mozart, and he greatly extended them, writing longer and more ambitious movements. The three periods Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods.[25] In this scheme, his early period is taken to last until about 1802, the middle period from about 1803 to about 1814, and the late period from about 1815.[26] In his Early period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas. It is said that he wrote Moonlight sonata after his proposal to Countess Gillueta was rejected. His Middle period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis brought on by his recognition of encroaching deafness. It is noted for large-scale works that express heroism and struggle, many of which have become very famous. Middle-period works include six symphonies (Nos. 3–8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (Nos. 7–11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata"), the "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio. Beethoven's Late period began around 1815. Works from this period are characterized by their intellectual depth, their formal innovations, and their intense, highly personal expression. For example, the String Quartet, Op. 131 has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement.[27] Other compositions from this period include the "Missa Solemnis", the last five string quartets (including the massive "Grosse Fuge") and the last five piano sonatas, of which the "Hammerklavier" Sonata is the best known.

22

Amanda Harberg: biographical sketch “Unafraid of melody” and “astonishingly beautiful.” Charlottesville Classical

Amanda Harberg is a composer and pianist whose work communicates on emotional, spiritual and intellectual levels. With music described by the New York Times as “a sultry excursion into 23 lyricism”, Harberg weaves her deep admiration for the classical tradition together with contemporary influences to create a distinctively personal style. The Flutist Quarterly has called her music “heartfelt, expressive, powerful and beautiful”, and composer John Corigliano says that her music “invigorates the brain and touches the soul”.

Harberg’s works have been presented at leading institutions including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Bargemusic. Her music has been recognized by awards such as a Fulbright Hays fellowship, Juilliard’s Peter Menin prize, New Jersey and New York State Council on the Arts fellowships, a MacDowell Colony summer residency, and a Newly Published Music award from the National Flute Association.

Recent commissions include works for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Sound All Around series, the Dorian Wind Quintet, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire, the Juilliard School, the New York Youth Symphony’s First Music Program, the New Jersey Youth Symphony, and by the Harmonium Choral Society. She recently completed her new orchestral work, The Sleeping Gypsy, to be premiered by the Bay Atlantic Symphony in May 2019.

Harberg’s work has been performed by leading instrumentalists including Los Angeles Philharmonic concertmaster Martin Chalifour, New York Philharmonic principal flutist Robert Langevin and Pacific Symphony concertmaster Dennis Kim. Her orchestral work has been performed by the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire, the Interlochen Philharmonic, the Roundtop Festival Orchestra, the New Jersey Youth Symphony, the Thuringer Symphonker, the Susquehanna Symphony and the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, and by many other orchestras worldwide.

Harberg’s recent piece Court Dances: Suite for Flute and Piano (2017) was commissioned by a consortium of 57 flutists led by Cobus du Toit. It was enthusiastically acclaimed by the Flutist Quarterly after its premiere at the National Flute Convention in 2017 given by du Toit and Harberg. Published by Theodore Presser Company, “Court Dances” was performed at the Kosciousko Foundation in 2018 by Robert Langevin with Harberg at the piano, and was used as a required competition piece for the Wm. S. Haynes Texas Flute Allstar Competition in 2018.

Her Sonata for Piccolo and Piano (2018) was commissioned by a consortium of 24 piccolo players, led by Regina Helcher Yost. It was premiered by Helcher Yost with the composer at the piano at the National Flute Convention in 2018. The sonata is scheduled for recital performances this Spring by leading piccolo players, including by Philadelphia Orchestra 24 piccoloist Erica Peel with Harberg at the piano, and a European premiere by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra piccoloist Gudrun Hinze at the European Flute Festival.

Harberg’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (2011/12) was commissioned by violist Brett Deubner. It was premiered with the National Symphony of Ecuador in 2011, and has gone on to be performed by over ten orchestras worldwide with Mr. Deubner as soloist. The concerto can be heard on Naxos American Classics with the Southern Arizona Symphony.

Harberg is also a dedicated educator with more than two decades of experience teaching composition, piano, music theory, aural skills, and 20th/21st century music history. Harberg began teaching through the Morse Fellowship program which sends Juilliard students into New York City public schools. She also served on the faculty of the Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, which is dedicated to educating students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. Harberg has also taught composition at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Luzerne Music Center, the Rocky Ridge Music Center, and the ASTA Chamber Music Institute. She currently teaches music composition at the Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.

As the in-house composer for Common Good Productions, Harberg has composed scores for The Abominable Crime, an award winning feature documentary, and Beyond Borders: Undocumented Mexican Americans.

Furthering her goal of creating bridges between audiences and performers, Harberg has directed and co-directed several music series dedicated to bringing American music to her community, including the Music in Montclair series in Montclair, NJ, and the Music and More series in Glen Ridge, NJ.

Her work is published by Theodore Presser Company, and has been recorded on Naxos, Koch International, American Modern Recordings, Albany and Centaur Records.

Harberg completed her undergraduate and masters degrees at the Juilliard School in composition, where she studied with Stephen Albert, David Diamond, and Robert Beaser. She received a Fulbright/Hays fellowship to study for a year with composer/pianist Frederic Rzewski, and her early studies in music composition were with Andrew Rudin.

Find out more at: http://amandaharberg.com/about/

25 Here is a map of Europe and much of Africa and the Middle East. The purple pin is Bonn, Germany, where Beethoven was born. Bonn was the capital of West Germany since 1949 - 1990. The red pin is Vienna, Austria, where Beethoven lived for most of his adult life. Both Germany and Austria are in central Europe.

(For a map of New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic United States, see next page)

26 Here is a map of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. New Jersey is in the Mid-Atlantic Region. We, of course, live in New Jersey, and so does composer Amanda Harberg, but further North.