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Russ Roberts asks about Beethoven's slow movements
I was giving a talk and I referred to Beethoven's slow movements as some of the most splendid creations of humankind. Russ asked me for a list, so I'll nominate the following:
1. The Emperor Concerto. This warhorse is a much underrated piece of music, especially the slow movement. The best recording, and indeed one of the best classical recordings of all time, is Michelangeli-Celibidache.
2. Beethoven's 9th. You could try the recordings by Abbado, Barenboim, or Klemperer, among others, for sublime takes on the slow movement.
3. The Late String Quartets, most of all Op.132 but indeed all of them. The slow movements are done best by Quartetto Italiano or the Busch Quartet, noting that the latter has inferior sound quality.
4. Hammerklavier Piano Sonata. Schnabel's take on the slow movement is the most profound, but his outer movements are a mess. Gilels or Pollini are safer. The box of late piano sonatas by Solomon covers the slow movements beautifully as well; when push comes to shove that is my pick.
Richter-Rostropovich are the choice for the slow movements in the cello sonatas. And don't forget Ivan Moravec playing the slow movement in the Appassionata.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 16, 2008 at 06:28 PM in Music | Permalink
Comments
Norrington's version of Beethoven's Ninth and Fifth are phenomenal. The slow movements are even more beautiful.
I had no idea that the Emperor Concerto was underrated, as it is one of the most highly prized, listened to, and played in orchestra of any of his concertos.
Posted by: mouse at Apr 16, 2008 7:06:13 PM
I don't think at all the Emperor concerto is underrated. Why do you think that?
Posted by: Carlos Mendez at Apr 16, 2008 7:21:41 PM
Schnabel's Hammerklavier second movement is indeed profound. I would also nominate the second movement
of the 32nd (and last) piano sonata, which Schnabel also does a pretty good job on.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at Apr 16, 2008 7:36:10 PM
If Russ isn't that familiar with Beethoven, you might want to start him out slow, which would certainly exclude the late quartets. Assuming accessibility is important, the 7th's second movement would surely be on the short list (though it's not all that slow the way Gardiner does it). My fave was always Pablo Casals' (back in the vinyl days). And of course the ever popular Pathetique (sonata # 8). If Russ is well versed in LvB, then my apologies and I'll leave the recommending to the experts.
This exercise reminds me of a John Simon review of a Woody Allen movie some years ago where the characters were naming things that were especially wonderful, one of which was the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony. Simon, always taking Allen down a peg for his pretentiousness, asked something to the effect of "what's wrong with the rest of the symphony?"
Posted by: ziel at Apr 16, 2008 7:54:08 PM
Tyler,
Why don't you try taking time to explain in detail why you like just one thing you like instead of constantly making up lists of things you like? This obsessive making up of lists of your favorite things seems adolescent and Aspergery, especially when the subject is something as mature and complex as Beethoven's slow movements.
Steve
Posted by: Steve Sailer at Apr 16, 2008 8:29:03 PM
I agree with ziel on the allegretto from the 7th Symphony. I would also recommend the second movement of the 3rd Symphony.
Posted by: Rob at Apr 16, 2008 8:31:01 PM
For what my opinion may be worth, and I agree with what TC has said, especially about the 9th symphony -and I may be the only one who thinks the choral last movement was a mistake -it is also true that Wagner is most magnificant in his quiet moments.
Posted by: Critic at Apr 16, 2008 9:01:34 PM
I notice that all of your suggested recordings are on modern instruments. For Beethoven and earlier, it's worth listening to performances that are done on period instruments (e.g. Hogwood's recordings of the 9 symphonies, and the Tafelmusik/Immerseel/Weil recordings of the piano concertos.) The agility and timbre of the instruments, and especially the balance of the piano vs orchestra, make a huge difference.
Posted by: Rich at Apr 16, 2008 9:02:09 PM
Critic, you are not the only one who thinks that. Steve, listen to the pieces. The list is what's valuable; it represents many years of listening to many different versions of these pieces and I mostly intend it as a simple imperative to buy. And I still think the Emperor is underrated.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Apr 16, 2008 9:21:35 PM
Tyler,
I'm fascinated by these culture lists and rankings. Do you believe in objective standards for cultural works? You seem so self-assured in your opinions on art, music, and literature -- even when those disagree with expert consensus.
If there are any objective standards, how much time has to pass for expert consensus to differentiate the great from the good from the average? Should the existence of expert disagreement over Beethoven's works cause me to give up on the idea of quality?
I'm very curious, I admit I pretty much have given up on the idea of any objective standards. There are certain artistic works that I find very moving and touching. And there are others I try and develop a taste for because I enjoy having other people, mainly women, admire me for my intellect and refined taste.
Is refined cultural taste primarily a status game?
For efficiency should I just adjust my cultural interests to those one notch higher in status than the women in my social circle?
My social circle is primarily master's degree having upper-middle class white and Asian professionals. They all seem very impressed that I've memorized some of Shakespeare's sonnets (which I did entirely for myself because I found them moving a long time ago). My knowledge of opera, on the other hand, doesn't impress any of them or interest them at all.
On an status-seeking efficiency basis, my few hours of sonnet memorizing a decade ago has been dramatically more efficient than my many tens of hours of opera watching and study.
Posted by: david at Apr 16, 2008 11:24:21 PM
How can a list like this leave off the 7th symphony!? It's so haunting, I can't manage to carry on any other task when I hear it -- I drop everything and just listen. (I recommend Bruno Walter for all Beethoven's symphonies.)
Posted by: David Wright at Apr 17, 2008 3:56:25 AM
...what if we started with one beethoven cd to buy? just one. which one would that be, oh wise ones?
Posted by: shawn at Apr 17, 2008 7:46:42 AM
I emphatically agree with the other comments about the 7th symphony. It's the fugue, about 5 minutes in, which does it for me every time. The other slow movement which would probably top my personal list is from the 4th piano concerto - that's the underrated one, not the Emperor...
Posted by: Tom P at Apr 17, 2008 8:40:19 AM
Anyone who thinks that the 4th movement of the 9th symphony is a mistake needs to be tied to a chair, and forced to listen to endless playing of Slim Whitman recordings. For several years at least.
Posted by: George at Apr 17, 2008 9:37:40 AM
I don't know that I can say the emperor concerto is underrated as a whole, but its slow movement certainly is.
Most written descriptions of the piece focus on the finale and the transition thereto. But the second movement is my favorite by far. It makes me want to cry every time.
Posted by: Misanthronomicon at Apr 17, 2008 10:33:29 AM
This is an emotional topic so I have no intention to comment on it rationally. I agree with everything in this post including the way it is presented. Merely looking at the list sends me to an instant high. I have had a working hypothesis for years that listening to Beethoven's slow movements could trigger an influx of oxytocin in one's brain.
Posted by: Yan Li at Apr 17, 2008 10:51:14 AM
Tyler, I keep hearing about Benjamin Zander's performance of the 9th and how he plays the "slow movement" much faster than normal--apparently using the prescribed tempo marks. The recording seems to be out of print.
Have you heard this version, and if so, what is your opinion of it?
Posted by: DG at Apr 17, 2008 12:17:04 PM
The "theme and variations" slow, second movement of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata is incredibly beautiful. It is also much longer than the more famous third movement. I have a cheap reissue CD featuring violinist Henryk Szeryng (sp.?), but I'm sure there are many other good versions.
Posted by: Stan Greer at Apr 17, 2008 1:05:53 PM
Stan, Henryk Szering was a Mexican violinist of Polish origins.
Posted by: Fernando at Apr 17, 2008 1:47:23 PM
As Tom P said, the slow movement of the 4th Piano Concerto is the underrated one. With such an unparalled approach and haunting tone, it's one of those passages that makes you declare "no one but Beethoven could have come up with this!"
The idea that the Choral Movement in the Ninth was a mistake is not terribly original because, if you believe the sources, the person who first concocted that notion was the master himself. Supposedly he always meant to replace it with an instrumental movement. Given the fact that the Ninth has been vererated perhaps more than any other musical work and that I have had numerous near ethereal experiences at its playing, I find it very difficult to conclude it was an error.
Posted by: Iggy at Apr 17, 2008 2:32:01 PM
The funeral march from the Eroica is sublime!
Posted by: abe at Apr 17, 2008 5:48:37 PM
I heard Michelangeli play the last Beethoven Sonata in Chicago 30+ years ago in Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Theater, a venue with superb acoustics. It was the single greatest instrumental performance I've ever heard. After he stopped playing, there was silence in the hall for at least 5 to 10 seconds and then complete pandemonium. Even today recalling it gives me a chill. He was incomparable.
Posted by: Goprefugee at Apr 17, 2008 6:26:36 PM
This is missing the best one of all, the slow movement/finale of Op. 111. I'm a Richard Goode fan there, and I've entertained many comers (though I tend, unfairly, to be biased towards living pianists not named Pollini. Who knows why). The other huge, unwarranted omission from the list and this discussion is the slow movement from the Archduke Trio. Others worthy of mention include the Pathetique sonata, the Op. 18/1 and Op. 59/1 string quartets, and the intro to the "Sanctus" from the "Missa Solemnis" (I am counting this as a slow movement because I feel like it).
The best single Beethoven CD to buy is Carlos Kleiber's recording of the Fifth and Seventh symphonies. Familiarity of repertoire + impact of performances + reduced price = compelling purchase.
The Bernstein "Ode an die Freiheit" recording of the Ninth after the fall of the Berlin Wall has to be considered in the ranks of extremely eloquent slow movements. When Bernstein was on, he could bring it like no other.
Fun topic.
Posted by: Lindemann at Apr 17, 2008 6:32:56 PM
You've missed the slow movements in his piano trios, especially from his "Ghost" trio.
I have a recording of this by Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose and Eugene Istomin, of which I am particularly fond.
Posted by: kris at Apr 17, 2008 8:07:02 PM
I agree with those who mention the 7th symphony. That slow movement was used by Frank Capra in one of the "Why We Fight" movies from World War II. I think it was the segment titled "The Nazis Strike." It is being played while the film shows the destruction and dead bodies in Poland as a result of the German attack. Very moving.
I think that it was also used in a movie that came out a few years ago (2003) called "The Saddest Music in the World."
There is a scene where two of the main characters are talking to each other. The soundtrack is the slow movement (2nd movement) from the symphony number 7 by Beethoven. This movement can be very sad at times, it is like a lament, a sorrowful lament.
Posted by: Cyril Morong at Apr 17, 2008 8:55:05 PM
