Song Qi
What does Beethoven, a name that is still thunderous 250 years after its birth, mean to the public? In our memories, he was a crippled spiritual icon on the classroom wall, a gentle musician played in textbooks for blind brothers and sisters, a shocking opening of "Symphony of Destiny", or "To Alice" played by a garbage truck. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, the surging news and book-flipping party did a small survey, asking everyone to talk about Beethoven in their eyes.
Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827
Stereotype: Deaf genius
There is no doubt that contemporary people have some stereotypes of Beethoven, the most representative of which are the two keywords of "deafness" and "great man". Or, because Ofethoven's deafness made it even more unquestionable about his greatness, a Japanese musician named Samura Hanoi Shou even had a scandal of "pretending to be deaf" and gaining attention.
Xiaofu, who has worked for more than ten years, recalls: "There was a fat music teacher in elementary school, she played the piano to teach us the difference between piano music of different generations, but I did not remember at all, however, I remember that she played a work created after Beethoven lost his hearing, and the teacher said that Beethoven's uncle had deafened him, but because Beethoven had been playing the piano for many years, he was able to think with his brain without hearing, and then wrote several great works." So my impression of Beethoven is that he is deaf and can write music without relying on his ears, and then I read his biography, and I only remember that he began to write songs when he was very young, and I also listened to a lot of his music, but I couldn't hear the doorway, and I didn't feel too much. The young man confessed that he was "not encouraged by Beethoven's music" but "encouraged by his story".
Ah Fen, who was a few years older than Xiaofu, also sighed: "I don't know anything about Beethoven at all, only that he practiced the piano so that the floor was soaked, I think it is probably the same as Wang Xizhi washing the whole pond black, it may also be a legend." A person who can't hear can compose music, I think this is basically not a person, no need for the function of the ear can also hear music, probably only Beethoven, I don't know anything about music, but from the anecdotes of his life, I can feel that he is a high-level person who has been perfected. ”
Beethoven 70 finni stamps in the "Famous Germans" series issued by the German Federal Post Office
In the eyes of huang 66, a student in school: "My first impression of Beethoven was in the primary school textbook, and there was a simple explanation by the teacher when learning the electronic keyboard class, and then there was also a little introduction in the history textbook." In my impression, Beethoven is probably a musical genius who has a rough fate but fights with fate to the end, deaf in his youth, but he used a wooden stick to bite the piano in his mouth to feel the vibration of the piano and insist on making music The inspirational story is a common material in the composition. ”
As for why Beethoven is called a genius, whether or not he can professionally appreciate his works, it seems that there is no need to think.
Huang 66 said: "The teacher who teaches music and many people are saying that Beethoven is a genius, so when he is exposed to music, he has a preconceived notion: a musician who can create so many classic works must be a genius." ”
"Post-85s" Qi Li also mentioned: "I only know that Beethoven is a genius, deaf in the ears, "Symphony of Destiny". His music also feels like a genius and intense, and I heard that he started a concert tour at the age of 6. In the eyes of Qi's father, he believes: "Beethoven is a world-class musician, a German, deaf in his later years, his most famous should be "Symphony of Destiny" and "Ode to Joy", he is the god of the music industry that the world admires!" No one surpasses. ”
Regardless of whether the above Anecdotes of Beethoven are somewhat true or false, and the time and reason for his deafness are geometric, Beethoven is undoubtedly a figure who has long been pushed to the altar, in the public mind, he is a great man, a god, but to remove the mask of stereotypes, in the hearts of those who have tried to approach Beethoven, how is he?
Gossip: A violent temper plagued by disease
The world loves to call Beethoven a hero, not everyone has a preference for heroes, and even some people always want to pull the hero off the altar, and some people are not too cold about Beethoven's widely praised deeds, but more from a personal point of view to feel the musician.
Li Xiang, who graduated from the Music Department of Xiamen University, said: "The three giants of classicism are Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, of which Beethoven is both a masterpiece of classical classics and a composer who pioneered romance, his creation involves rich genres, a large number of works, and a great influence on future generations, I have the most impression is the Ninth Symphony, which has spent decades of Beethoven, hearing the chorus part, you can feel the highlight of human nature. ”
Li Xiang mentioned that he had seen a movie called "Copy Beethoven", "This movie should have historical facts and fiction, in the past I thought Beethoven was a musician, but after watching this movie, I think I may understand more why he wrote such music in the future, and he is not only a genius composer, he is also a person." ”
Stills from the movie "Copy Beethoven"
For Beethoven, Li Xiang's evaluation is also more with human observation: "Beethoven uses music as a sword, fights against fate, interrogates life, is very powerful, feels that he lives too hard, genius may be a little paranoid, do not know that he is happy?" In terms of personal preferences, Li Xiang said: "I personally feel that he is a person with a more unfortunate fate, so it may also lead to a more grumpy personality, and I personally prefer a relatively gentle attitude to life, such as Haydn, Bach or Mozart, so Beethoven is a bit for me, uh... Too heavy. ”
Ning Ning, who graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and majored in piano, also said bluntly: "In fact, I personally do not like Beethoven very much, because he is particularly arrogant, I usually listen to his music, no doubt show a lot of heroism, very firm, very manly, but I may also think, why would he write such a thing?" Beethoven himself is actually a relatively short man, not good looking, as far as I know, his love is not very successful, because the appearance is frustrated many times. Beethoven never married, but has always pursued the nourishment of love relentlessly, and when he was young, he had several lovers in Bonn, but according to Magdalena, a singer who rejected him at the time: "He looks ugly and his spirit is not normal. So these lovers didn't really take him seriously, and maybe some of them looked down on him. ”
"His music has reached this point, in terms of music is already the same as God's existence, but in their time, people's lives are relatively scarce, he should still need some emotional recognition, my own feelings, he wrote a lot of songs that show his masculinity, but also an expression of emotional needs, but from the eyes of women, many men he deliberately shows that he is very strong, but it will appear a little naïve." 」
Portrait of Beethoven, Christian Horneman, 1803
In addition, I still have a bit of a 'stingy' impression of him, the information circulating in the anecdote, Beethoven because he is not very rich, and his friends' money is very calculated, he wrote a song called "The Anger of Losing a Penny", which is a piano sketch that Beethoven did not complete before his death, if you look for it, you will find that the melody jumps frequently, the mood fluctuates greatly, there is a feeling of approaching steps similar to the running heartbeat, showing the emotions of anger and playfulness intertwined.
Beethoven himself is a very grumpy person, for a penny, of course, this is just an exaggeration, not only angry, but also to show it to music, to write such angry and playful intertwined music, but also a true portrayal of a miser, so I will feel that he is a little careful, but from another point of view, from such works, it can be seen that he is more childlike. ”
In terms of Beethoven's works, Ning Ning added: "The title of Beethoven's symphony, except for "Pastoral" and the subtitles of each movement of this symphony, he took it himself, and others, including "Hero", were all given to them by publishers or posterity. For example, some of his piano sonatas, only "Pathos" and "Farewell" were named by him personally, and the others were also filled in by posterity. Because of Beethoven's idol aura, listeners and critics like to beautify or optimize his songs, wearing more positive and positive titles. In the eyes of the public, Beethoven is very great, wrote so many symphonies, almost all the music genres in the world he has composed, is grand and positive, but in fact, many of his small pieces are very interesting and very good. ”
Manuscript of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (Pastoral).
In the eyes of Teacher Ning Ning, Beethoven is more of a person than a god. "I think the master is also a man, he is an ordinary person, God is fair, give this person a special talent, that will definitely take away some of his things, so no one is perfect, not to say that we idol worship, he must have an idol aura." 」
Indeed, the gossip and discussion about Beethoven has not been interrupted since the 18th century, and the study of Beethoven in the 19th century has become a common practice and continues to this day, the most eye-catching of which is Beethoven's private life, some people think that he maintained virginity all his life, and some people think that he has been in and out of brothels for many years, so Beethoven's relationship with syphilis has also become a hot topic, and the degree of his deafness is often questioned.
Xiao Bai, who has a preference for Beethoven, said: "People nowadays are a bit inexplicable, as soon as they say that Beethoven is great, someone immediately jumps out and says, 'Do you think that Beethoven is completely deaf?' However, I can empathize because these people are not heroes who are put up, but the spirit of ordinary people, so some people say that Beethoven is not completely deaf, has syphilis, and even says that the composer has reached a certain level, even if he has a hearing impairment, it is normal to compose music, in order to try to show that Beethoven is not a 'hero', I feel very confused, because I did not want to sacrifice this person as a hero on the altar. ”
The cover of the hero's symphony can be seen in Beethoven's modified handwriting in the collection of the Vienna Association of Friends of Music
In addition to the remarks mentioned by Xiao Bai, there is also a theory that the spiritual influence of Beethoven's syphilis made him more sensitive in his creation, which led to the breeding of many great works.
Sun Yifei, a medical history teacher who used to be an attending surgeon, said: "The relationship between syphilis and artists has always been valued by everyone, but the principle is not very certain. There are also many books in this regard, such as "Genius, Madman and Syphilis", the history of the disease of gossip celebrities has a long history, and I personally feel that the gossip about him in this regard should be viewed in the historical context of the time. ”
Teacher Ning Ning also said: "In the era when Beethoven lived, there were already some people who suspected that he had syphilis and was deaf, but this phenomenon was also very common at that time, in fact, in the history of music, there were many musicians with syphilis, such as Brahms, and Beethoven's confidant Schubert, of course, there is another theory that Beethoven's mother had syphilis, which is a bit of an excuse for him, but no matter what, in that era, many artists' pastimes were indeed to go to brothels. ”
In addition, Sun Yifei also mentioned a concept of "shame": "In Beethoven's time, the view of syphilis was different from today, and the sense of shame was not so strong, so it was not a big problem at that time." And the stigma of each disease is changing with time, there is a historical period, syphilis is a symbol of fashion, Maupassant was very happy when he got syphilis... Another typical example is schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, if anyone has Alzheimer's disease in the family today may not be able to hide, this disease is also called Alzheimer's disease, the stigma is relatively mild, but schizophrenia is not the same, at least in this era, schizophrenia is still very serious discrimination, but in many manifestations, these two diseases are not so different, but the stigma of these two diseases is very different.
In fact, some people think that Einstein has obvious symptoms of depression, but because it is in Einstein, people think that this is a manifestation of genius, such as the boat called 'genius conductor', I watched a survey some time ago, after the aura faded, people found out that in fact, he was just a patient. As for whether Beethoven was infected with syphilis, there have always been many opinions, and there is a large space in the book "Genius, Madman and Syphilis", which scholars have studied for centuries and have not yet been conclusive. ”
Genius, Madman and Syphilis by Deborah Hayden and translated by Li Zhenchang, Jiangxi People's Publishing House, 2016
Syphilis is an infectious disease, because of the action on the nerves, the impact on people is comprehensive and gradual, which is why people will speculate that Many of Beethoven's diseases are caused by it, and Beethoven's hearing is gradually declining. But there is no doubt that Beethoven did not give up art when he was suffering from illness, and he wrote in his last will, "I feel that I cannot leave this world until I have completed all the mission I feel", and even more in extreme pain and depression, he issued such a cry of "I will choke the throat of fate", he often said, "All disasters bring some good". In addition to Beethoven's musical works, these Roman Rolland records about Beethoven also present us with a more three-dimensional him.
Xiu Xiu, who likes to read classics, said: "I listen to Beethoven's music relatively little, but I feel that "Beethoven' biography in "Celebrity Biography" is very well written, probably I will have an impression of what kind of person he is, I recently read another "John Christophe" by Roman Rowland, I feel that the author also hinted at some of Beethoven's spirit through the protagonist, the protagonist of this book is a musician, but also a person who does not succumb to fate. I think these people, not that they want to overcome anything, are that they themselves love music, love life, and support them to live. Before reading "Celebrity Biography", I only think that this person is very miserable, not succumbing to fate and the like, I will think about whether it is a very chicken blood person, after reading it I think Beethoven is really more cattle, is really love life, many people are knocked down by life, will be angry or depressed, but people are still joyful, is not knocked down at all, have independent thoughts, compared to real life, we seem to be too weak. ”
Biography of a Celebrity [in French] by Roman Rolland, translated by Fu Lei, People's Literature Publishing House, Yilin Publishing House, 2010
The same is the "Celebrity Biography", Xiao Bai has some different perceptions: "There are a lot of letters written by Beethoven to friends in this book, and I will feel that this person is particularly screwed, and I don't remember the details, but there is an impression that this person is very awkward and shafty, and later watched "Wuthering Heights", which feels particularly similar to Beethoven's twist. He used particularly fierce words to express friendship, I didn't think much about it at first, I thought that maybe Europeans expressed their feelings more directly, and later some people said that he was gay, and I was not good at making any evaluations. Beethoven often complained about his situation, if you read these letters alone, the unknown masses may still think that this is the "loser" of the mid-life crisis, of course, some people say that the image of Beethoven in "Celebrity Biography" is deliberately very sloppy. ”
In short, all kinds of literature and film and television works about Beethoven are sketching a more flesh-and-blood image for us, he walked off the altar, is a living person, you may like, may hate, but no one can deny that Beethoven's musical works still bring you an extraordinary listening experience.
The works are rich: not only exciting, not all heavy
And what you see in Beethoven's music may be even more different from what you know in the stories written by others.
The big cat has a full set of Beethoven CDs at home, but in his opinion, "listen less", "heavy a little", the big cat said: "Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Liszt CD I have bought, just from the layman's sense of hearing, the difference is also very obvious, Mozart, Lister will listen to the sofa nap, but Beethoven is not appropriate, Beethoven is more majestic, will think of the magnificent sea, the pace of the military parade phalanx, the Ninth Symphony is a very exciting feeling, but I usually listen to Beethoven's frequency is not high. I liked Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro for a while, and it was also very uplifting, passionate, but more close to the feeling of humanity, sounding very cheerful and pleasant. In my opinion, if Mozart's tone is the mood of the world, Beethoven is beyond the metaphysical, I feel that Beethoven is not so kitsch, this kitsch, is the meaning of the concept put forward by Kundera, not the meaning of our daily understanding, probably the response that people will show according to the conventional group consciousness, and they will show their own conformity. So I feel that Beethoven is a little more divine, not a worldly feeling. ”
Portrait of Beethoven, [de] Willibrord Joseph Mähler, 1815
Xiu Xiu disagreed, perhaps influenced by "Beethoven's Biography": "I don't think his music is heavy, there is no negative thing in his music, it is very positive." Xiu Xiu believes that "classic works are really good, after time selection, they convey courage and strength, which are not available on the Internet."
As a member of the "Back Wave", Huang 66 said: "I myself do not often listen to classical music, but in the music classes in elementary and junior high schools, in the fragments of music history in history classes, I have heard Beethoven's symphonies and piano sonatas, and we have held a symphony concert in middle school, which seems to have Beethoven's songs, after listening to his works, the passion and drama revealed between the notes, there are soft and rigid musical styles, all of which show the unique musical charm, especially the "Symphony of Destiny" Li's vigorous sense of life and resilience to not accept defeat are very shocking, and I can feel from his music that he and music have become one. ”
The wind that calls himself a "Beethoven fan" is very excited about Beethoven's music. "When I used to learn piano, everyone would have one or two super favorite musicians, and I liked Beethoven the most in classical music."
Ling Feng shared: "About 16 years old, my mother bought me CDs of many masters including Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. At that time I especially liked "Destiny", this symphony, everyone is more familiar with the 'lamp and lantern boarding', but when I listened to this song, I found that the back was actually very good, although it was very exciting, but the melody after it was unexpectedly good, that is, "Destiny" gave me a feeling - although it seems that there are many places in fate that you can't get over, But there are also places that make you feel good – it's a kind of alternation. At that time, I was young, but I felt that I had a different feeling about fate, not only sadness and pain that everyone thought, but also some beauty and happiness, they coexisted.
The "fate" motive of the Symphony of Destiny
I also like Beethoven's "Moonlight" very much, I am ashamed to say, when I learned the piano, I listened to a lot of songs, but most of the time I couldn't understand it, although there were some imagery performances in the names of those songs, but I couldn't hear it, just "Moonlight", I really heard it! It's the feeling of a beautiful view of the moonlight sprinkling on the river. So at the time I really liked this piece, the imagery was clear.
When I was learning piano, my mother liked "To Alice" very much, but I couldn't like it, because I played it too many times, and every piano child should practice this piece repeatedly. But my mother felt that this song represented love, that is, what love looked like in her mind, and she especially liked to listen to me play.
And I prefer Beethoven's difficult songs, probably because of the difficulty, my level at that time can not play at all, such as "Moonlight", "Pathos", and then Bejiu, is also known as "Ode to Joy", as if the symphony is actually rarely with a chorus, I remember that Beethoven also added choral elements to the symphony earlier, this is Beethoven's relatively late song, give me the feeling that he has looked down on many things in life, is a kind of looking back on life in his old age, A kind of praise for the world, a kind of generosity.
I think that a person's life, after going through so many ups and downs and difficulties, when looking back, it is more of a thank you and praise, which is a special poke to me, although I have not gone through so many lives, but I hope that I can have this attitude when I am old. ”
Portrait of Beethoven, [Austrian] Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, 1823
Jessie, who also played piano from elementary school, is also very interested in Beethoven's musical works, Jessie often lives in Germany and Italy, and has long been influenced by classical music, she said: "I know very little about the lives of those composers, more just through the works to understand, Beethoven gives me the biggest feeling, in fact, is: there is no routine." Like Mozart and Strauss, they still have routines, many songs play more or listen to too much, you can roughly guess what kind of melody is going to come out of it, or what kind of ' Chapter', you can also feel the composer's composition habits, such as how the melody will go next, which chord will probably be matched, but Beethoven will coldly come out with a chord or note, you can't figure out why this is here, why use this, if you pop up, the first time may be weird, and then you will feel that the effect of putting it here is quite good. ”
Jessie speculates, "I guess it's also related to his deafness, because he can't hear intuitively, his perception of music and melody is not the same, although his previous experiences can let him know what the effect of those notes combined, but can't hear, can't verify and fine-tune, and because of this, some passages in his work will have subtle discord, or unconventional, but this is also the charm of his music." 」 For Jessie, Beethoven's music is "suitable for others to get tired of brushing their ears", but also mentions that "I can't loop his songs".
Speaking of the public's acceptance of Mozart and Debussy in terms of hearing is higher than That of Beethoven, Jessie put forward his own ideas: "That's because Mozart and Debussy are more uninspiring, and their songs are more like flat commercial films, Beethoven, that is a proper literary film!" A lot of musicians' songs are very good, just like many novels are also very good, but you can predict the plot, and you don't feel shocked, Beethoven, I think it belongs to one of the few, if you haven't heard it, you can't predict it at all. People don't think it now because a lot of the songs are so famous, more or less heard, like "Destiny", but unfortunately I actually suspect that a lot of people are listening to a simplified version of Richard Clayderman, a 'commercial version' that the public can listen to, or only listen to some of the beginnings, that is, 'Oh, Beethoven, I know those beginnings.' ’”
Beethoven funeral on 29 March 1827, [Austrian] Franz Xaver Stöber, 1827
In Jessie's view, the part of Beethoven's music that the public knows cannot reflect his characteristics, in fact, Beethoven's musical works are extremely rich, and it is highly recommended to listen to the scene. "I really recommend going to the scene to listen, Beethoven is a must go to the scene to listen, although maybe all the pieces should go to the scene, you can feel why it is a classic, but I think Beethoven is especially important!" 」
Jessie recalled: "The first time I went to the scene to listen to the symphony, there was Beethoven, when I was only a teenager, when I hadn't heard it before, I would feel that there should be no difference, because the CD can also produce a good effect, but that day obviously felt different, the symphony is a collection, there are other composers' works, but Beethoven is very prominent, it is completely different, you can know on the spot, you must listen to the scene, the details in the CD are not out, Beethoven's music is too rich, Listening to a game for 2 or 3 hours, you will not be bored, because he basically does not repeat the previous things, and every time he comes out, he will give you a relatively new feeling.
And that kind of resonance of the whole scene Oh, only on the scene will deeply understand why he wrote this, why he wanted to combine this, I think Beethoven may really have more consideration of the effect of the scene when composing, may be related to their era, at that time I don't know if the phonograph came out, their composers are completely based on the scene effect. If someone wants to start learning about classical music, I think it is recommended to listen to a more classic Beethoven live symphony concert. ”
Beethoven's birthplace in Bonn is now used as a memorial "Beethoven House"
Jessie and LingFeng both confessed that although they have the experience of learning the piano, classical music is not full of their own lives, Lingfeng said: "I have not listened to Beethoven for a long time, I think listening to classical music, especially symphony, need to arrange a long period of time, enjoy the symphony needs to be coherent time, otherwise once the emotions are interrupted, they will not be able to pick up." It used to take more than an hour to commute to class, and I could listen to a complete symphony in a row, but now there are very few opportunities like that. Although I am not professional, I think music is to convey emotions, and I don't have to think of it as a particularly advanced thing, and I can listen to whoever I understand. Jessie also said: "Everyone will listen to the feeling differently, like a thousand Hamlets, but it is a good experience to be moved." ”
Regarding Beethoven and his music, there is no doubt that even if you can't appreciate it from music, you can feel the vitality and creativity of being born as a human being because of its story. In Genius, Madness and Syphilis, the author writes: "Beethoven's later music was an important turning point in the history of music, especially the ninth symphony, Ode to Happiness, which is simply beyond perfection. Someone asked Beethoven about the piano sonata, and he said it was not for the present but for the future. Did Beethoven ever get syphilis, and did it affect us? "Being able to try to feel the hours-long symphony and experience the artistic expression that is immersed in high-quality works is also particularly valuable in our time.
What was your first impression of Beethoven? (The Beethoven in my mind may be ABCD)
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Unparalleled artistic genius
The strong man who chokes the throat of fate
Talented and irritable maniacs
Deaf ears lit up and so on
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Proofreader: Ding Xiao