Updates relating to the creation of a classical cultural renaissance
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Opus 9, No. 1: A Gem Trio Dedicated to an Irishman Who Served in the Russian Army! Beethoven’s Opus 9 is a delightful set of three string trios, deserving of broader popularity than they enjoy today. They were dedicated to one of his early patrons, Count Johann George von Browne, […]
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy – Beethoven’s contribution to a Dialogue of Cultures: his “Spanish Songs” George Thomson was an Edinburgh-based publisher and collector of folk music, who commissioned classical arrangements of traditional folk melodies from composers such as Pleyel, Kozeluch, Weber, and Haydn. Beethoven, a passionate believer in the brotherhood of man, wholeheartedly took up […]
China-Russia Lunar Station To Be at South Pole, Will Start Unmanned March 15 (EIRNS)—Xinhua published a report March 14 on the lunar research station planned by the China-Russia MOU signed March 9, which it characterized as “the fourth phase of [China’s] lunar exploration program, while implying it would be a prelude to, rather than part […]
Beethoven: Sparks of Joy — Out of ruins; bring forth a renaissance. “The Ruins of Athens” is the third of three plays written by August von Kotzebue for the opening of the lavish new theater in Pest (the first was “King Stephen”, and the second didn’t survive the censor’s knife). In the play, Athena wakes […]
Perseverance Safely on Mars, Right on Target, Ready for Her Search for Life Feb. 18, 2021 (EIRNS)—NASA’s Mars rover, Perseverance, programmed to arrive at Mars this afternoon, plunged through the atmosphere, and landed at 3:55 PM, Eastern Standard Time, exactly on schedule. It was the fifth time NASA has successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars. […]
Schiller Institute NYC Chorus Robert Burns – Friend of FreedomJoin us for a birthday celebration.Sunday, January 24th, 6:00 pm EST As the story goes, in 1793, at a private dinner in England, when the host proposed the health of William Pitt [first prime minister of Great Britain], the poet said, sharply, “Let us drink the health of […]
Beethoven Opus 119 Bagatelles Notes by Margaret Scialdone The Opus 119 Bagatelles appeared in London in 1823 as “Trifles for the Piano Forte, Consisting of Eleven pleasing Pieces Composed in Various Styles by L. Van Beethoven”. They are quite accessible to non-celebrity but accomplished pianists, and it’s possible to hear brilliant interpretations by people you […]
Beethoven’s Final Sonata Opus 111 Notes by Margaret Scialdone After completing his 32nd and final piano sonata, Beethoven is said to have made the astonishing remark that the piano is “after all, an unsatisfactory instrument”. This work does indeed strain the limits of both piano and performer, the latter spiritually as well as technically. The […]
Beethoven’s “Der Erlkönig” Notes by Margaret Scialdone Goethe’s poem “Der Erlkönig” tells the story of a boy riding home on horseback in his father’s arms. He is frightened when he hears the seductive voice of the Erl King, a powerful and creepy supernatural being. The Erl King attempts to lure the child into joining him, […]
Beethoven’s humor—“The Test of Kisses” Notes by Fred Haight This song, “Prüfung des Küssens, WoO 89” (The Test of Kissing), was composed between 1790–1791, for Bonn’s Electoral singer, Joseph Lux. It is for a bass and orchestra. The author of the text is unknown, but this song, in the Italian opera buffa style, is skillfully […]