The Arts Society Wokingham’s October virtual lecture celebrated the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.
Our lecturer, Sandy Burnett, is one of BBC Radio 3’s core team of presenters; his professionalism is obvious from the image above of his home recording studio.
The society’s technical team are really jealous and are demanding an upgrade.
In his relaxed style, Sandy took us through the life and times of the great composer.
Beethoven came to Vienna in 1792 as ‘an unlicked bear cub’ but soon won the support of rich and important sponsors.
His increasing deafness which started in his late 20s, stopped him performing as a pianist but did not stop his prolific composing of string quartets, piano sonatas, concertos and symphonies.
Sandy‘s choice of musical excerpts perfectly illustrated the different stages in his composing journey. Surprisingly the lecture did not end with the famous choral Ode to Joy from the final movement of the ninth symphony but with the lesser-known poignant piano Bagatelle no. 3 opus 126.
At the start of the lecture Sandy had posed the question – Beethoven: Romantic or Revolutionary?
By the end of this virtual lecture, we were convinced that Beethoven was truly a revolutionary as well as a romantic.
By expanding Mozart’s elegant Classical style of music he blazed the trail to Romanticism.
He inspired his successors, such as Mahler, Brahms and Schoenberg, to take classical music in previously unimagined directions.
Our next lecture will also include some music, but with a seasonal theme. Sarah Deere-Jones will be bringing alive the spirit of a medieval Christmas. Her lecture is entitled Sing We Yule – A Musical Portrait of a Medieval Christmas and will include music on reproduction medieval instruments as well as illustrations from illuminated manuscripts, contemporary accounts and haunting songs.
The lecture will be available to members on the society’s YouTube channel at 7.45pm on Monday, November 16.
To find out how to join the society and have access to these interesting and varied lectures on all aspects of the arts, visit www.theartssocietywokingham.org.uk
Sue Bryant
