Beethoven “ reconciles what is strange and incompatible .”
The Avant Garde
Classicist
Beethoven “ reconciles what is strange and incompatible .”
By Martha Thomas
Some musicians just can ’ t get enough Ludwig van Beethoven . “ Every time you look at one of his pieces , you can look at it a different way ,” says Christopher Costanza , cellist for the St . Lawrence String Quartet ( SLSQ ). “ It ’ s like looking at a sculpture from different angles , or a painting in different light . There ’ s so much depth , so many components .”
The SLSQ will play two of Beethoven ’ s string quartets — No . 16 , op . 135 and No . 14 , op . 131 — at Johns Hopkins ’ Shriver Hall as part of the BSO ’ s special Beethoven Weekend ( Nov . 18 – 20 ) to culminate the orchestra ’ s centennial celebration . That weekend , the quartet will also appear with the BSO to play John Adams ’ Absolute Jest , which the composer says he crafted from “ fragments ” of Beethoven string quartets , as well as “ familiar ‘ tattoos ’ from his symphonic scherzos .”
While Beethoven didn ’ t invent the string quartet — his friend and teacher Joseph Haydn gets credit for that — Beethoven made the form his own . “ The five great , late Beethoven quartets ,” says Costanza , are , from the point of view of a string player , “ among the most
remarkable performing experiences you can ever have .”
BSO Music Director Marin Alsop describes Beethoven as the “ seminal classical composer .” For that reason , she says , “ it ’ s important to go back to him and continue to explore his work .”
Alsop ’ s inaugural season with the BSO included all the composer ’ s symphonies . “ We paired them with living composers , trying to make the connection to the ‘ Beethovens of our time ,’” she says ( see box ). A decade later , says Alsop , is a good time to revisit the master she calls “ the measuring stick for every composer who succeeded him .”
In the 2016 – 2017 season , the BSO is focusing on the great master by presenting four Beethoven symphonies ( Nos . 4 , 5 , 7 and 9 ) and five piano concerti ( 1 – 5 ), in addition to the SLSQ program . The lineup opened with “ Ode to Joy ” ( from Beethoven ’ s Ninth ) at the September gala , and will close in June with the Violin Concerto played by soloist Gil Shaham .
Beethoven is captivating not just for the breadth and power of his canon , but also for the fact that he is easy to study . Unlike the cryptic William Shakespeare , with whom the composer has been compared , much is known about Beethoven ’ s
How Absolute Jest Is Inspired By the Master
Margaretta Mitchell |
John Adams |
“ You wouldn ’ t think of it today ,” says BSO Music Director Marin Alsop , “ but Beethoven ’ s avant garde approach to writing music is an inspiration to contemporary composers .”
John Adams is one of those . Absolute Jest is “ filled with Beethoven quotes ,” says Christopher Costanza , cellist for the St . Lawrence String
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Quartet . “ It almost becomes an obsession .” But , Costanza points out , “ Beethoven also obsessed over these parts . ( Adams ) is transforming them in his own way .” Adams has written three pieces for the SLSQ , including Absolute Jest . Working with the composer has given the musicians insight into Beethoven ’ s creative approach , says Costanza . |
“ If you listen to the Beethoven scherzos ” that inspired the Adams piece , “ certain components could almost be likened to a kind of minimalist writing , because of their repeated , driving qualities ,” says Costanza . “ We learn about dead composers when we work with the live ones . Fundamentally , it ’ s the same creative process .” |
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