{"id":317631,"date":"2020-12-15T16:39:27","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T21:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/?p=317631"},"modified":"2023-11-08T20:11:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T01:11:27","slug":"harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/","title":{"rendered":"Beethoven at 250"},"content":{"rendered":"<header\n\tclass=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-article-header alignfull article-header is-style-split-screen has-light-background has-colored-heading has-overlay has-media-on-the-right\"\n\tstyle=\" \"\n>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__content\">\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"article-header__category\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/arts-humanities\/\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\tArts &amp; Culture\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<h1 class=\"article-header__title wp-block-heading \">\n\t\tBeethoven at 250\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t<p class=\"article-header__subheading wp-block-heading\">\n\t\t\tHarvard composers consider his wide-reaching legacy\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__meta\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<address class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<time class=\"article-header__date\" datetime=\"2020-12-15\">\n\t\t\tDecember 15, 2020\t\t<\/time>\n\n\t\t<span class=\"article-header__reading-time\">\n\t\t\tlong read\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Beethoven\" height=\"2500\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_wikimedia_commons_2500.jpg\" width=\"1785\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\nPortrait of Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820.<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Wikipedia\/Public Domain<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n\t\t<p>Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music that has endured for centuries. Interpreted by classical musicians and contemporary artists alike, his work is found in everything from disco hits to movie scores to TV shows and rap songs. In his own day, the fiery, tempestuous composer was a skilled improviser and innovator, and the first major composer to include voices in his symphonic works. On the 250<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of his birth in December 1770, six Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the continuing significance of his work.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yosvany Terry<\/h1>\n<p><em> Senior Lecturer on Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yosvany Terry.\" class=\"wp-image-318136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=48,32 48w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=96,64 96w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1488,992 1488w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1680,1120 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Rose Lincoln\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>Without a doubt, Beethoven was one of the most celebrated composers of his time. I believe he is one of those figures that you cannot escape, in the same way you can\u2019t escape Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. Studying music without studying Beethoven is like trying to become an opera composer without knowing Mozart, who contributed so much.<\/p>\n<p>Beethoven is very interesting because he represented that special connection between what historians would call Classicism and Romanticism, and you can see this transformation\/connection in his music. Another thing that fascinates me about Beethoven \u2014 in addition to his mastery of both composition and musical transformation \u2014 is that he was a great improviser. You can hear that, but you really see it when you study his music. It is known that he was an incredible improviser during his time and that ability, I think, brought freshness to the natural way in which he was able to take his music material and develop it over and over. I consider this to be one of the aspects that connects him with some genres of music that have improvisation at its core, and as a jazz and contemporary musician who studied classical music, I take a lot of inspiration from it. When you listen to his sonatas, piano trios, string quartets, symphonies, you are just facing a genius, and you have to stop and celebrate his ingenuity as a composer.<\/p>\n\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (&#8220;Hammerklavier&#8221;) (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\r\n\n<p>Beethoven also helped to revolutionize the pianoforte, which is one of the ancestors of the piano as we know it today, with his compositions and musical explorations. The \u201cHammerklavier\u201d sonata is a testament to how he pushes the boundaries of the instrument searching for new ways of expressions and sonorities. But to focus just on his piano work doesn\u2019t really capture the genius composer, because when you hear his music, you realize he really understood what for us is the ultimate instrument, the orchestra. He understood it from the inside out and in incredible detail.<\/p>\n<p>As a composer, you go back study the scores, analyze the music, and learn from the composition process and the principles that earlier composers created for their own work. Beethoven is one of the key figures you have to grapple with, like Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Bartok. As a jazz artist, you need to study Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. You cannot skip them.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yvette J. Jackson<\/h1>\n<p><em> Assistant Professor, Department of Music<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yvette Janine Jackson\" class=\"wp-image-318138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=48,32 48w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=96,64 96w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1488,992 1488w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1680,1120 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>The first eight measures of the second movement of Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9<i> <\/i>are a magnificent whirlwind of energy. I cannot resist listening to a recording of the Molto vivace scherzo in D minor without repeating the opening sequence six or seven times before allowing the movement to unfold; it\u2019s an attempt to sustain the feeling that it brings me. The immediacy with which Beethoven demands the listener\u2019s attention is something I think about with my own compositions. I also think about who gets memorialized and who does not and the reasons behind these decisions.<\/p>\n<p>While the 250th anniversary of Beethoven\u2019s birth is being celebrated by different communities around the world, my attention is on George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, the Afro-European virtuosic violinist who inspired Beethoven\u2019s \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. Beethoven ended up removing his name from the dedication and, like many Black musicians and composers, Bridgetower\u2019s contributions have been forgotten or obscured until recently. As efforts to resurrect these histories are being expanded by artists, scholars, and artist-scholars, I am influenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolecherryviolin.com\/forge-with-george\">FORGEWITHGEORGE<\/a> and its commissioned composers; it is a music project Nicole Cherry began in 2016 to celebrate Bridgetower\u2019s legacy. Cherry, assistant professor of violin at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is premiering a new body of repertory for solo or chamber violin each year until 2033, the 200th anniversary of the Slavery Abolitionist Act in England. (Bridgetower lived in London.) While audiences convene for online lecture series and virtual concerts to commemorate the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, I hope the same audiences will devote an equal level of enthusiasm toward learning more about the artists of color and women who have contributed without receiving the deserved recognition.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Matthew Aucoin \u201912<\/h1>\n<p><em>Director, American Modern Opera Company<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Aucoin &#039;12\" class=\"wp-image-318140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=48,32 48w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=96,64 96w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1488,992 1488w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1680,1120 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>One thing that sets Beethoven apart, especially from the Viennese Classical music of the generation before him, is its sheer explosiveness. You often have the sense, with the very first note of a Beethoven piece, that it bursts into existence as a result of some uncontainable pressure that must have been building for a long time before the piece was born, a pressure that finally became unbearable.<\/p>\n\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\r\n\n<p>Just listen to the chords that open the \u201cEroica\u201d Symphony, or the\u00a0\u201cCoriolan\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em>Overture. These pieces begin with a tearing, rending gesture \u2014 some fabric is being ripped, some curtain is being torn down so that we can gain entry into a new space.\u00a0That was a radical gesture, fundamentally different from the way an immediate predecessor like Mozart would begin a piece. A lot of Mozart pieces seem to emerge fully formed, as if through a virgin birth. With Beethoven you can feel the struggle.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that sense of struggle, of effort, is part of what makes Beethoven\u2019s music so affecting. It\u2019s magnificently wrought, of course, but it almost never feels easy. There is clearly a human subject at the center of the whirlwind, standing calmly in the eye of the storm, and it can be a powerful experience, as you play Beethoven\u2019s music or listen to it, to try to identify with that subject.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Vijay Iyer<\/h1>\n<p><em> Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vijay Iyer\" class=\"wp-image-318134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=48,32 48w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=96,64 96w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1488,992 1488w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1680,1120 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>Beethoven has occupied an outsized place in the U.S. zeitgeist for as long as I can remember. An arrangement of his Symphony No. 5 even showed up on the\u00a0\u201cSaturday Night Fever\u201d\u00a0soundtrack in 1977, when I was 6. Harvard&#8217;s\u00a0string quartet in residence, the Parker Quartet, put out a<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/27ukrMT2QfUjw6X2R74Ty4?si=UVTO7gXTR0iV6Sq-5qWy2w\"> spectacular recording<\/a> last year of three of Beethoven\u2019s quartets. Even though I grew up playing and enjoying his music, I always felt a little removed from his legacy. The composer\u2019s presence in the American imagination plays into a fantasy of continuity with European culture, which is also imagined to be \u201cpure,\u201d free of any non-European presence.<\/p>\n\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\r\n\n<p>But what we know of Beethoven\u2019s world complicates that picture, even beyond theories around his ethnic heritage that I won\u2019t get into here. The fact is that all of Europe participated in the economies of imperialism and enslavement, and the continent was home to many individuals who were born of those violent histories. Beethoven\u2019s Violin Sonata No. 9, more commonly known as the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata, was initially composed not for violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, but for the composer\u2019s friend, the Afro-European violinist and composer George Bridgetower. In 1803, Bridgetower performed a dazzling premiere of the piece, with the delighted Beethoven at the piano; but the two musicians quarreled after the concert, and the composer decided to revoke his original dedication.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years Bridgetower has been the subject of considerable research and speculation, notably in poet Rita Dove\u2019s book\u00a0\u201cSonata Mulattica.\u201d\u00a0In 2015 the violinist Jennifer Koh asked me to write a companion piece to the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. My response was\u00a0\u201cBridgetower Fantasy,\u201d\u00a0a collection of musical imaginings about George Bridgetower.<\/p>\n<p>From our 21st-century vantage, considering Bridgetower\u2019s unique circumstance, we can only see him as an ambiguous figure who, in embodying difference, provoked inspiration, fantasy, desire, anger, and finally, erasure.\u00a0When reflecting on the greatness of a figure like Beethoven, I find it helpful to remind myself how much of music\u2019s history lies deep beneath its surface \u2014 and particularly how many great music-makers barely left a trace in the archive.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Chaya Czernowin<\/h1>\n<p><em> Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chaya Czernowin,\" class=\"wp-image-318142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=48,32 48w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=96,64 96w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1488,992 1488w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg?resize=1680,1120 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Kris Snibbe\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>If composers are allowed to contribute to the flow of the music stream through their voices,\u00a0Beethoven has imagined and was able to intervene\u00a0and change the riverbed.\u00a0In his middle period we can hear modernity, which can never become conventional: We hear the premonition of the conventional and its subversion in action. This is a live testimony for modernity because both are there, the convention and its subversion, the act of intervening for the sake of reexamination or finding a new path is asserted as something tangible, a kind of an essence of modernity which can be always experienced, regardless of style.<\/p>\n<p>However I am truly fascinated with Beethoven\u2019s late period. There all dialectics have melted away and ceased to exist.\u00a0The intense and conflicting emotions comprising the fabric of the music interweave into a new transparent fabric of unified\u00a0reflection. This fabric is so different from the fabric of dialectic of the middle period: In Beethoven\u2019s late period\u00a0he reaches a gaze, which has left the rebelliousness and anger behind\u00a0and originates in a bird view of emotionality and behavior, which is sublime and abstract. At times one is unsure whether\u00a0this is acceptance or total dissolution or delirium, whether this is utmost spirituality where one maintains a belief learned through emotional strain or a descent into the deepest crevices of the bodily existence and delirium. As unfathomable as it is, it seems to me to be both. The constant seismographic micromovements, which draw a path or a continuum between acceptance to dissolution or delirium makes the authenticity of this gaze even stronger and deeply touching for me.<\/p>\n<p>This gaze is strange.\u00a0It is at the same time universal and\u00a0truly singular. At its base there is a foreign element, which is like a diamond of expression which is not breakable, never diluted or possible to explain and with which I remain forever fascinated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Veronica Leahy \u201923<\/h1>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg\" alt=\"Veronica Leahy.\" class=\"wp-image-318238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg 2500w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=48,32 48w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=96,64 96w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=1488,992 1488w, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg?resize=1680,1120 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Courtesy of Veronica Leahy<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>From all accounts, Beethoven was not only a great composer but also a legendary improviser. His famous improvisation duel with Daniel Steibelt was almost like the equivalent of a modern-day jam session. Something to note about this duel was that Beethoven did not fabricate an entire new sonic world on the fly; rather, he embellished upon the first few measures of the sheet music that Steibelt dramatically threw to the ground. His ability to embellish on themes and organically develop motifs is apparent throughout his entire catalog and is what has had the greatest impact on me as a composer and, perhaps even more, as an improviser. Sometimes the most compelling pieces or solos, regardless of genre, consist of taking a simple rhythm or a small sequence of notes and repeatedly turning it on its head. Beethoven could imagine the same melody from many different perspectives, which is quite remarkable considering that he could not literally hear them. Take his Fifth Symphony, which we all know and love. He could twist around those four notes in such compelling ways that, nearly two and half centuries later, we still feels its resonance and ingenuity. Beethoven\u2019s music can be connected with on both a highly intellectual and intuitive level, forcing both the mind and body to respond intensely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the 250th anniversary of his birth, several Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the work and life of Ludwig van Beethoven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131912115,"featured_media":318144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gz_ga_pageviews":24,"gz_ga_lastupdated":"2022-05-16 11:40","document_color_palette":"crimson","author":"","affiliation":"","_category_override":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1360],"tags":[7857,22175,23149,47235,35270,36407,47359],"gazette-formats":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-317631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-humanities","tag-chaya-czernowin","tag-ludwig-van-beethoven","tag-matt-aucoin","tag-veronica-leahy","tag-vijay-iyer","tag-yosvany-terry","tag-yvette-j-jackson"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.0 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Harvard composers reflect on Beethoven at 250 &#8212; Harvard Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On the 250th anniversary of his birth, several Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the work and life of Ludwig van Beethoven.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Harvard composers reflect on Beethoven at 250\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the 250th anniversary of his birth, several Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the work and life of Ludwig van Beethoven.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harvard Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-15T21:39:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-09T01:11:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_wikimedia_commons_1200.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lian Parsons\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Harvard composers reflect on Beethoven at 250\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_wikimedia_commons_1200.jpg\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lian Parsons\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/person\/eb0a6f335aa1df1db33a426d73586ba4\"},\"headline\":\"Beethoven at 250\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-15T21:39:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-09T01:11:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/\"},\"wordCount\":1960,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/12\/harvard-composers-reflect-on-beethoven-at-250\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_wikimedia_commons_2500.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Chaya Czernowin\",\"Ludwig van Beethoven\",\"Matt Aucoin\",\"Veronica Leahy\",\"Vijay Iyer\",\"Yosvany Terry\",\"Yvette J. 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Culture\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<h1 class=\"article-header__title wp-block-heading \">\n\t\tBeethoven at 250\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t<p class=\"article-header__subheading wp-block-heading\">\n\t\t\tHarvard composers consider his wide-reaching legacy\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__meta\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<address class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<time class=\"article-header__date\" datetime=\"2020-12-15\">\n\t\t\tDecember 15, 2020\t\t<\/time>\n\n\t\t<span class=\"article-header__reading-time\">\n\t\t\tlong read\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img alt=\"Beethoven\" height=\"2500\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_wikimedia_commons_2500.jpg\" width=\"1785\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\nPortrait of Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820.<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Wikipedia\/Public Domain<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t\n<\/header>\n"},"2":{"blockName":"core\/group","attrs":{"templateLock":false,"metadata":{"name":"Article content"},"align":"wide","layout":{"type":"constrained","justifyContent":"left"},"tagName":"div","lock":[],"className":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","ariaLabel":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\t\t<p>Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music that has endured for centuries. Interpreted by classical musicians and contemporary artists alike, his work is found in everything from disco hits to movie scores to TV shows and rap songs. In his own day, the fiery, tempestuous composer was a skilled improviser and innovator, and the first major composer to include voices in his symphonic works. On the 250<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of his birth in December 1770, six Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the continuing significance of his work.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yosvany Terry<\/h1>\n<p><em> Senior Lecturer on Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles<\/em><\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n\t\t<p>Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music that has endured for centuries. Interpreted by classical musicians and contemporary artists alike, his work is found in everything from disco hits to movie scores to TV shows and rap songs. In his own day, the fiery, tempestuous composer was a skilled improviser and innovator, and the first major composer to include voices in his symphonic works. On the 250<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of his birth in December 1770, six Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the continuing significance of his work.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yosvany Terry<\/h1>\n<p><em> Senior Lecturer on Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles<\/em><\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n\t\t<p>Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music that has endured for centuries. Interpreted by classical musicians and contemporary artists alike, his work is found in everything from disco hits to movie scores to TV shows and rap songs. In his own day, the fiery, tempestuous composer was a skilled improviser and innovator, and the first major composer to include voices in his symphonic works. On the 250<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of his birth in December 1770, six Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the continuing significance of his work.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yosvany Terry<\/h1>\n<p><em> Senior Lecturer on Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"wide","id":318136,"caption":"","creditText":"Rose Lincoln\/Harvard file photo","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg","alt":"Yosvany Terry.","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yosvany Terry.\" class=\"wp-image-318136\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yosvany Terry.\" class=\"wp-image-318136\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yosvany Terry.\" class=\"wp-image-318136\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Rose Lincoln\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>Without a doubt, Beethoven was one of the most celebrated composers of his time. I believe he is one of those figures that you cannot escape, in the same way you can\u2019t escape Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. Studying music without studying Beethoven is like trying to become an opera composer without knowing Mozart, who contributed so much.<\/p>\n<p>Beethoven is very interesting because he represented that special connection between what historians would call Classicism and Romanticism, and you can see this transformation\/connection in his music. Another thing that fascinates me about Beethoven \u2014 in addition to his mastery of both composition and musical transformation \u2014 is that he was a great improviser. You can hear that, but you really see it when you study his music. It is known that he was an incredible improviser during his time and that ability, I think, brought freshness to the natural way in which he was able to take his music material and develop it over and over. I consider this to be one of the aspects that connects him with some genres of music that have improvisation at its core, and as a jazz and contemporary musician who studied classical music, I take a lot of inspiration from it. When you listen to his sonatas, piano trios, string quartets, symphonies, you are just facing a genius, and you have to stop and celebrate his ingenuity as a composer.<\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>Without a doubt, Beethoven was one of the most celebrated composers of his time. I believe he is one of those figures that you cannot escape, in the same way you can\u2019t escape Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. Studying music without studying Beethoven is like trying to become an opera composer without knowing Mozart, who contributed so much.<\/p>\n<p>Beethoven is very interesting because he represented that special connection between what historians would call Classicism and Romanticism, and you can see this transformation\/connection in his music. Another thing that fascinates me about Beethoven \u2014 in addition to his mastery of both composition and musical transformation \u2014 is that he was a great improviser. You can hear that, but you really see it when you study his music. It is known that he was an incredible improviser during his time and that ability, I think, brought freshness to the natural way in which he was able to take his music material and develop it over and over. I consider this to be one of the aspects that connects him with some genres of music that have improvisation at its core, and as a jazz and contemporary musician who studied classical music, I take a lot of inspiration from it. When you listen to his sonatas, piano trios, string quartets, symphonies, you are just facing a genius, and you have to stop and celebrate his ingenuity as a composer.<\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>Without a doubt, Beethoven was one of the most celebrated composers of his time. I believe he is one of those figures that you cannot escape, in the same way you can\u2019t escape Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. Studying music without studying Beethoven is like trying to become an opera composer without knowing Mozart, who contributed so much.<\/p>\n<p>Beethoven is very interesting because he represented that special connection between what historians would call Classicism and Romanticism, and you can see this transformation\/connection in his music. Another thing that fascinates me about Beethoven \u2014 in addition to his mastery of both composition and musical transformation \u2014 is that he was a great improviser. You can hear that, but you really see it when you study his music. It is known that he was an incredible improviser during his time and that ability, I think, brought freshness to the natural way in which he was able to take his music material and develop it over and over. I consider this to be one of the aspects that connects him with some genres of music that have improvisation at its core, and as a jazz and contemporary musician who studied classical music, I take a lot of inspiration from it. When you listen to his sonatas, piano trios, string quartets, symphonies, you are just facing a genius, and you have to stop and celebrate his ingenuity as a composer.<\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"harvard-gazette\/audio-transcript","attrs":{"align":"none","blockColorPalette":"","creditText":"","displayCaption":false,"layout":"audio-transcript","mediaAlt":"","mediaCaption":"","mediaHeight":0,"mediaId":0,"mediaSize":"","mediaType":"","mediaUrl":"","mediaWidth":0,"lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[]},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/group","attrs":{"className":"audio-title-wrapper","tagName":"div","templateLock":null,"lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","layout":[],"ariaLabel":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/heading","attrs":{"textAlign":"","content":"Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)","level":2,"levelOptions":[],"placeholder":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","className":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2>","innerContent":["<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2>"],"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2>"},{"blockName":"core\/audio","attrs":{"id":318135,"blob":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3","caption":null,"autoplay":false,"loop":false,"preload":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","className":"","style":[],"anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>","innerContent":["<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>"],"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper\">\n","<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n","\n<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>Beethoven also helped to revolutionize the pianoforte, which is one of the ancestors of the piano as we know it today, with his compositions and musical explorations. The \u201cHammerklavier\u201d sonata is a testament to how he pushes the boundaries of the instrument searching for new ways of expressions and sonorities. But to focus just on his piano work doesn\u2019t really capture the genius composer, because when you hear his music, you realize he really understood what for us is the ultimate instrument, the orchestra. He understood it from the inside out and in incredible detail.<\/p>\n<p>As a composer, you go back study the scores, analyze the music, and learn from the composition process and the principles that earlier composers created for their own work. Beethoven is one of the key figures you have to grapple with, like Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Bartok. As a jazz artist, you need to study Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. You cannot skip them.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yvette J. Jackson<\/h1>\n<p><em> Assistant Professor, Department of Music<\/em><\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>Beethoven also helped to revolutionize the pianoforte, which is one of the ancestors of the piano as we know it today, with his compositions and musical explorations. The \u201cHammerklavier\u201d sonata is a testament to how he pushes the boundaries of the instrument searching for new ways of expressions and sonorities. But to focus just on his piano work doesn\u2019t really capture the genius composer, because when you hear his music, you realize he really understood what for us is the ultimate instrument, the orchestra. He understood it from the inside out and in incredible detail.<\/p>\n<p>As a composer, you go back study the scores, analyze the music, and learn from the composition process and the principles that earlier composers created for their own work. Beethoven is one of the key figures you have to grapple with, like Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Bartok. As a jazz artist, you need to study Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. You cannot skip them.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yvette J. Jackson<\/h1>\n<p><em> Assistant Professor, Department of Music<\/em><\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>Beethoven also helped to revolutionize the pianoforte, which is one of the ancestors of the piano as we know it today, with his compositions and musical explorations. The \u201cHammerklavier\u201d sonata is a testament to how he pushes the boundaries of the instrument searching for new ways of expressions and sonorities. But to focus just on his piano work doesn\u2019t really capture the genius composer, because when you hear his music, you realize he really understood what for us is the ultimate instrument, the orchestra. He understood it from the inside out and in incredible detail.<\/p>\n<p>As a composer, you go back study the scores, analyze the music, and learn from the composition process and the principles that earlier composers created for their own work. Beethoven is one of the key figures you have to grapple with, like Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Bartok. As a jazz artist, you need to study Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. You cannot skip them.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yvette J. Jackson<\/h1>\n<p><em> Assistant Professor, Department of Music<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"wide","id":318138,"caption":"","creditText":"Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg","alt":"Yvette Janine Jackson","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yvette Janine Jackson\" class=\"wp-image-318138\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yvette Janine Jackson\" class=\"wp-image-318138\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yvette Janine Jackson\" class=\"wp-image-318138\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>The first eight measures of the second movement of Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9<i> <\/i>are a magnificent whirlwind of energy. I cannot resist listening to a recording of the Molto vivace scherzo in D minor without repeating the opening sequence six or seven times before allowing the movement to unfold; it\u2019s an attempt to sustain the feeling that it brings me. The immediacy with which Beethoven demands the listener\u2019s attention is something I think about with my own compositions. I also think about who gets memorialized and who does not and the reasons behind these decisions.<\/p>\n<p>While the 250th anniversary of Beethoven\u2019s birth is being celebrated by different communities around the world, my attention is on George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, the Afro-European virtuosic violinist who inspired Beethoven\u2019s \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. Beethoven ended up removing his name from the dedication and, like many Black musicians and composers, Bridgetower\u2019s contributions have been forgotten or obscured until recently. As efforts to resurrect these histories are being expanded by artists, scholars, and artist-scholars, I am influenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolecherryviolin.com\/forge-with-george\">FORGEWITHGEORGE<\/a> and its commissioned composers; it is a music project Nicole Cherry began in 2016 to celebrate Bridgetower\u2019s legacy. Cherry, assistant professor of violin at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is premiering a new body of repertory for solo or chamber violin each year until 2033, the 200th anniversary of the Slavery Abolitionist Act in England. (Bridgetower lived in London.) While audiences convene for online lecture series and virtual concerts to commemorate the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, I hope the same audiences will devote an equal level of enthusiasm toward learning more about the artists of color and women who have contributed without receiving the deserved recognition.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Matthew Aucoin \u201912<\/h1>\n<p><em>Director, American Modern Opera Company<\/em><\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>The first eight measures of the second movement of Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9<i> <\/i>are a magnificent whirlwind of energy. I cannot resist listening to a recording of the Molto vivace scherzo in D minor without repeating the opening sequence six or seven times before allowing the movement to unfold; it\u2019s an attempt to sustain the feeling that it brings me. The immediacy with which Beethoven demands the listener\u2019s attention is something I think about with my own compositions. I also think about who gets memorialized and who does not and the reasons behind these decisions.<\/p>\n<p>While the 250th anniversary of Beethoven\u2019s birth is being celebrated by different communities around the world, my attention is on George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, the Afro-European virtuosic violinist who inspired Beethoven\u2019s \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. Beethoven ended up removing his name from the dedication and, like many Black musicians and composers, Bridgetower\u2019s contributions have been forgotten or obscured until recently. As efforts to resurrect these histories are being expanded by artists, scholars, and artist-scholars, I am influenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolecherryviolin.com\/forge-with-george\">FORGEWITHGEORGE<\/a> and its commissioned composers; it is a music project Nicole Cherry began in 2016 to celebrate Bridgetower\u2019s legacy. Cherry, assistant professor of violin at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is premiering a new body of repertory for solo or chamber violin each year until 2033, the 200th anniversary of the Slavery Abolitionist Act in England. (Bridgetower lived in London.) While audiences convene for online lecture series and virtual concerts to commemorate the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, I hope the same audiences will devote an equal level of enthusiasm toward learning more about the artists of color and women who have contributed without receiving the deserved recognition.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Matthew Aucoin \u201912<\/h1>\n<p><em>Director, American Modern Opera Company<\/em><\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>The first eight measures of the second movement of Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9<i> <\/i>are a magnificent whirlwind of energy. I cannot resist listening to a recording of the Molto vivace scherzo in D minor without repeating the opening sequence six or seven times before allowing the movement to unfold; it\u2019s an attempt to sustain the feeling that it brings me. The immediacy with which Beethoven demands the listener\u2019s attention is something I think about with my own compositions. I also think about who gets memorialized and who does not and the reasons behind these decisions.<\/p>\n<p>While the 250th anniversary of Beethoven\u2019s birth is being celebrated by different communities around the world, my attention is on George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, the Afro-European virtuosic violinist who inspired Beethoven\u2019s \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. Beethoven ended up removing his name from the dedication and, like many Black musicians and composers, Bridgetower\u2019s contributions have been forgotten or obscured until recently. As efforts to resurrect these histories are being expanded by artists, scholars, and artist-scholars, I am influenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolecherryviolin.com\/forge-with-george\">FORGEWITHGEORGE<\/a> and its commissioned composers; it is a music project Nicole Cherry began in 2016 to celebrate Bridgetower\u2019s legacy. Cherry, assistant professor of violin at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is premiering a new body of repertory for solo or chamber violin each year until 2033, the 200th anniversary of the Slavery Abolitionist Act in England. (Bridgetower lived in London.) While audiences convene for online lecture series and virtual concerts to commemorate the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, I hope the same audiences will devote an equal level of enthusiasm toward learning more about the artists of color and women who have contributed without receiving the deserved recognition.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Matthew Aucoin \u201912<\/h1>\n<p><em>Director, American Modern Opera Company<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"wide","id":318140,"caption":"","creditText":"Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg","alt":"Matt Aucoin '12","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Aucoin &#039;12\" class=\"wp-image-318140\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Aucoin &#039;12\" class=\"wp-image-318140\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Aucoin &#039;12\" class=\"wp-image-318140\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>One thing that sets Beethoven apart, especially from the Viennese Classical music of the generation before him, is its sheer explosiveness. You often have the sense, with the very first note of a Beethoven piece, that it bursts into existence as a result of some uncontainable pressure that must have been building for a long time before the piece was born, a pressure that finally became unbearable.<\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>One thing that sets Beethoven apart, especially from the Viennese Classical music of the generation before him, is its sheer explosiveness. You often have the sense, with the very first note of a Beethoven piece, that it bursts into existence as a result of some uncontainable pressure that must have been building for a long time before the piece was born, a pressure that finally became unbearable.<\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>One thing that sets Beethoven apart, especially from the Viennese Classical music of the generation before him, is its sheer explosiveness. You often have the sense, with the very first note of a Beethoven piece, that it bursts into existence as a result of some uncontainable pressure that must have been building for a long time before the piece was born, a pressure that finally became unbearable.<\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"harvard-gazette\/audio-transcript","attrs":{"align":"none","blockColorPalette":"","creditText":"","displayCaption":false,"layout":"audio-transcript","mediaAlt":"","mediaCaption":"","mediaHeight":0,"mediaId":0,"mediaSize":"","mediaType":"","mediaUrl":"","mediaWidth":0,"lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[]},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/group","attrs":{"className":"audio-title-wrapper","tagName":"div","templateLock":null,"lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","layout":[],"ariaLabel":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/heading","attrs":{"textAlign":"","content":"Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)","level":2,"levelOptions":[],"placeholder":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","className":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2>","innerContent":["<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2>"],"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2>"},{"blockName":"core\/audio","attrs":{"id":318143,"blob":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3","caption":null,"autoplay":false,"loop":false,"preload":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","className":"","style":[],"anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>","innerContent":["<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>"],"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper\">\n","<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n","\n<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>Just listen to the chords that open the \u201cEroica\u201d Symphony, or the\u00a0\u201cCoriolan\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em>Overture. These pieces begin with a tearing, rending gesture \u2014 some fabric is being ripped, some curtain is being torn down so that we can gain entry into a new space.\u00a0That was a radical gesture, fundamentally different from the way an immediate predecessor like Mozart would begin a piece. A lot of Mozart pieces seem to emerge fully formed, as if through a virgin birth. With Beethoven you can feel the struggle.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that sense of struggle, of effort, is part of what makes Beethoven\u2019s music so affecting. It\u2019s magnificently wrought, of course, but it almost never feels easy. There is clearly a human subject at the center of the whirlwind, standing calmly in the eye of the storm, and it can be a powerful experience, as you play Beethoven\u2019s music or listen to it, to try to identify with that subject.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Vijay Iyer<\/h1>\n<p><em> Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts<\/em><\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>Just listen to the chords that open the \u201cEroica\u201d Symphony, or the\u00a0\u201cCoriolan\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em>Overture. These pieces begin with a tearing, rending gesture \u2014 some fabric is being ripped, some curtain is being torn down so that we can gain entry into a new space.\u00a0That was a radical gesture, fundamentally different from the way an immediate predecessor like Mozart would begin a piece. A lot of Mozart pieces seem to emerge fully formed, as if through a virgin birth. With Beethoven you can feel the struggle.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that sense of struggle, of effort, is part of what makes Beethoven\u2019s music so affecting. It\u2019s magnificently wrought, of course, but it almost never feels easy. There is clearly a human subject at the center of the whirlwind, standing calmly in the eye of the storm, and it can be a powerful experience, as you play Beethoven\u2019s music or listen to it, to try to identify with that subject.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Vijay Iyer<\/h1>\n<p><em> Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts<\/em><\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>Just listen to the chords that open the \u201cEroica\u201d Symphony, or the\u00a0\u201cCoriolan\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em>Overture. These pieces begin with a tearing, rending gesture \u2014 some fabric is being ripped, some curtain is being torn down so that we can gain entry into a new space.\u00a0That was a radical gesture, fundamentally different from the way an immediate predecessor like Mozart would begin a piece. A lot of Mozart pieces seem to emerge fully formed, as if through a virgin birth. With Beethoven you can feel the struggle.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that sense of struggle, of effort, is part of what makes Beethoven\u2019s music so affecting. It\u2019s magnificently wrought, of course, but it almost never feels easy. There is clearly a human subject at the center of the whirlwind, standing calmly in the eye of the storm, and it can be a powerful experience, as you play Beethoven\u2019s music or listen to it, to try to identify with that subject.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Vijay Iyer<\/h1>\n<p><em> Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"wide","id":318134,"caption":"","creditText":"Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg","alt":"Vijay Iyer","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vijay Iyer\" class=\"wp-image-318134\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vijay Iyer\" class=\"wp-image-318134\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vijay Iyer\" class=\"wp-image-318134\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>Beethoven has occupied an outsized place in the U.S. zeitgeist for as long as I can remember. An arrangement of his Symphony No. 5 even showed up on the\u00a0\u201cSaturday Night Fever\u201d\u00a0soundtrack in 1977, when I was 6. Harvard's\u00a0string quartet in residence, the Parker Quartet, put out a<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/27ukrMT2QfUjw6X2R74Ty4?si=UVTO7gXTR0iV6Sq-5qWy2w\"> spectacular recording<\/a> last year of three of Beethoven\u2019s quartets. Even though I grew up playing and enjoying his music, I always felt a little removed from his legacy. The composer\u2019s presence in the American imagination plays into a fantasy of continuity with European culture, which is also imagined to be \u201cpure,\u201d free of any non-European presence.<\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>Beethoven has occupied an outsized place in the U.S. zeitgeist for as long as I can remember. An arrangement of his Symphony No. 5 even showed up on the\u00a0\u201cSaturday Night Fever\u201d\u00a0soundtrack in 1977, when I was 6. Harvard's\u00a0string quartet in residence, the Parker Quartet, put out a<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/27ukrMT2QfUjw6X2R74Ty4?si=UVTO7gXTR0iV6Sq-5qWy2w\"> spectacular recording<\/a> last year of three of Beethoven\u2019s quartets. Even though I grew up playing and enjoying his music, I always felt a little removed from his legacy. The composer\u2019s presence in the American imagination plays into a fantasy of continuity with European culture, which is also imagined to be \u201cpure,\u201d free of any non-European presence.<\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>Beethoven has occupied an outsized place in the U.S. zeitgeist for as long as I can remember. An arrangement of his Symphony No. 5 even showed up on the\u00a0\u201cSaturday Night Fever\u201d\u00a0soundtrack in 1977, when I was 6. Harvard's\u00a0string quartet in residence, the Parker Quartet, put out a<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/27ukrMT2QfUjw6X2R74Ty4?si=UVTO7gXTR0iV6Sq-5qWy2w\"> spectacular recording<\/a> last year of three of Beethoven\u2019s quartets. Even though I grew up playing and enjoying his music, I always felt a little removed from his legacy. The composer\u2019s presence in the American imagination plays into a fantasy of continuity with European culture, which is also imagined to be \u201cpure,\u201d free of any non-European presence.<\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"harvard-gazette\/audio-transcript","attrs":{"align":"none","blockColorPalette":"","creditText":"","displayCaption":false,"layout":"audio-transcript","mediaAlt":"","mediaCaption":"","mediaHeight":0,"mediaId":0,"mediaSize":"","mediaType":"","mediaUrl":"","mediaWidth":0,"lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[]},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/group","attrs":{"className":"audio-title-wrapper","tagName":"div","templateLock":null,"lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","layout":[],"ariaLabel":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/heading","attrs":{"textAlign":"","content":"Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)","level":2,"levelOptions":[],"placeholder":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","className":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2>","innerContent":["<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2>"],"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2>"},{"blockName":"core\/audio","attrs":{"id":318133,"blob":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3","caption":null,"autoplay":false,"loop":false,"preload":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"align":"","className":"","style":[],"anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>","innerContent":["<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>"],"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper\">\n","<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n","\n<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>But what we know of Beethoven\u2019s world complicates that picture, even beyond theories around his ethnic heritage that I won\u2019t get into here. The fact is that all of Europe participated in the economies of imperialism and enslavement, and the continent was home to many individuals who were born of those violent histories. Beethoven\u2019s Violin Sonata No. 9, more commonly known as the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata, was initially composed not for violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, but for the composer\u2019s friend, the Afro-European violinist and composer George Bridgetower. In 1803, Bridgetower performed a dazzling premiere of the piece, with the delighted Beethoven at the piano; but the two musicians quarreled after the concert, and the composer decided to revoke his original dedication.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years Bridgetower has been the subject of considerable research and speculation, notably in poet Rita Dove\u2019s book\u00a0\u201cSonata Mulattica.\u201d\u00a0In 2015 the violinist Jennifer Koh asked me to write a companion piece to the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. My response was\u00a0\u201cBridgetower Fantasy,\u201d\u00a0a collection of musical imaginings about George Bridgetower.<\/p>\n<p>From our 21st-century vantage, considering Bridgetower\u2019s unique circumstance, we can only see him as an ambiguous figure who, in embodying difference, provoked inspiration, fantasy, desire, anger, and finally, erasure.\u00a0When reflecting on the greatness of a figure like Beethoven, I find it helpful to remind myself how much of music\u2019s history lies deep beneath its surface \u2014 and particularly how many great music-makers barely left a trace in the archive.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Chaya Czernowin<\/h1>\n<p><em> Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music<\/em><\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>But what we know of Beethoven\u2019s world complicates that picture, even beyond theories around his ethnic heritage that I won\u2019t get into here. The fact is that all of Europe participated in the economies of imperialism and enslavement, and the continent was home to many individuals who were born of those violent histories. Beethoven\u2019s Violin Sonata No. 9, more commonly known as the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata, was initially composed not for violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, but for the composer\u2019s friend, the Afro-European violinist and composer George Bridgetower. In 1803, Bridgetower performed a dazzling premiere of the piece, with the delighted Beethoven at the piano; but the two musicians quarreled after the concert, and the composer decided to revoke his original dedication.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years Bridgetower has been the subject of considerable research and speculation, notably in poet Rita Dove\u2019s book\u00a0\u201cSonata Mulattica.\u201d\u00a0In 2015 the violinist Jennifer Koh asked me to write a companion piece to the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. My response was\u00a0\u201cBridgetower Fantasy,\u201d\u00a0a collection of musical imaginings about George Bridgetower.<\/p>\n<p>From our 21st-century vantage, considering Bridgetower\u2019s unique circumstance, we can only see him as an ambiguous figure who, in embodying difference, provoked inspiration, fantasy, desire, anger, and finally, erasure.\u00a0When reflecting on the greatness of a figure like Beethoven, I find it helpful to remind myself how much of music\u2019s history lies deep beneath its surface \u2014 and particularly how many great music-makers barely left a trace in the archive.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Chaya Czernowin<\/h1>\n<p><em> Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music<\/em><\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>But what we know of Beethoven\u2019s world complicates that picture, even beyond theories around his ethnic heritage that I won\u2019t get into here. The fact is that all of Europe participated in the economies of imperialism and enslavement, and the continent was home to many individuals who were born of those violent histories. Beethoven\u2019s Violin Sonata No. 9, more commonly known as the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata, was initially composed not for violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, but for the composer\u2019s friend, the Afro-European violinist and composer George Bridgetower. In 1803, Bridgetower performed a dazzling premiere of the piece, with the delighted Beethoven at the piano; but the two musicians quarreled after the concert, and the composer decided to revoke his original dedication.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years Bridgetower has been the subject of considerable research and speculation, notably in poet Rita Dove\u2019s book\u00a0\u201cSonata Mulattica.\u201d\u00a0In 2015 the violinist Jennifer Koh asked me to write a companion piece to the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. My response was\u00a0\u201cBridgetower Fantasy,\u201d\u00a0a collection of musical imaginings about George Bridgetower.<\/p>\n<p>From our 21st-century vantage, considering Bridgetower\u2019s unique circumstance, we can only see him as an ambiguous figure who, in embodying difference, provoked inspiration, fantasy, desire, anger, and finally, erasure.\u00a0When reflecting on the greatness of a figure like Beethoven, I find it helpful to remind myself how much of music\u2019s history lies deep beneath its surface \u2014 and particularly how many great music-makers barely left a trace in the archive.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Chaya Czernowin<\/h1>\n<p><em> Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"wide","id":318142,"caption":"","creditText":"Kris Snibbe\/Harvard file photo","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg","alt":"Chaya Czernowin,","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chaya Czernowin,\" class=\"wp-image-318142\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chaya Czernowin,\" class=\"wp-image-318142\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chaya Czernowin,\" class=\"wp-image-318142\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Kris Snibbe\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>If composers are allowed to contribute to the flow of the music stream through their voices,\u00a0Beethoven has imagined and was able to intervene\u00a0and change the riverbed.\u00a0In his middle period we can hear modernity, which can never become conventional: We hear the premonition of the conventional and its subversion in action. This is a live testimony for modernity because both are there, the convention and its subversion, the act of intervening for the sake of reexamination or finding a new path is asserted as something tangible, a kind of an essence of modernity which can be always experienced, regardless of style.<\/p>\n<p>However I am truly fascinated with Beethoven\u2019s late period. There all dialectics have melted away and ceased to exist.\u00a0The intense and conflicting emotions comprising the fabric of the music interweave into a new transparent fabric of unified\u00a0reflection. This fabric is so different from the fabric of dialectic of the middle period: In Beethoven\u2019s late period\u00a0he reaches a gaze, which has left the rebelliousness and anger behind\u00a0and originates in a bird view of emotionality and behavior, which is sublime and abstract. At times one is unsure whether\u00a0this is acceptance or total dissolution or delirium, whether this is utmost spirituality where one maintains a belief learned through emotional strain or a descent into the deepest crevices of the bodily existence and delirium. As unfathomable as it is, it seems to me to be both. The constant seismographic micromovements, which draw a path or a continuum between acceptance to dissolution or delirium makes the authenticity of this gaze even stronger and deeply touching for me.<\/p>\n<p>This gaze is strange.\u00a0It is at the same time universal and\u00a0truly singular. At its base there is a foreign element, which is like a diamond of expression which is not breakable, never diluted or possible to explain and with which I remain forever fascinated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Veronica Leahy \u201923<\/h1>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>If composers are allowed to contribute to the flow of the music stream through their voices,\u00a0Beethoven has imagined and was able to intervene\u00a0and change the riverbed.\u00a0In his middle period we can hear modernity, which can never become conventional: We hear the premonition of the conventional and its subversion in action. This is a live testimony for modernity because both are there, the convention and its subversion, the act of intervening for the sake of reexamination or finding a new path is asserted as something tangible, a kind of an essence of modernity which can be always experienced, regardless of style.<\/p>\n<p>However I am truly fascinated with Beethoven\u2019s late period. There all dialectics have melted away and ceased to exist.\u00a0The intense and conflicting emotions comprising the fabric of the music interweave into a new transparent fabric of unified\u00a0reflection. This fabric is so different from the fabric of dialectic of the middle period: In Beethoven\u2019s late period\u00a0he reaches a gaze, which has left the rebelliousness and anger behind\u00a0and originates in a bird view of emotionality and behavior, which is sublime and abstract. At times one is unsure whether\u00a0this is acceptance or total dissolution or delirium, whether this is utmost spirituality where one maintains a belief learned through emotional strain or a descent into the deepest crevices of the bodily existence and delirium. As unfathomable as it is, it seems to me to be both. The constant seismographic micromovements, which draw a path or a continuum between acceptance to dissolution or delirium makes the authenticity of this gaze even stronger and deeply touching for me.<\/p>\n<p>This gaze is strange.\u00a0It is at the same time universal and\u00a0truly singular. At its base there is a foreign element, which is like a diamond of expression which is not breakable, never diluted or possible to explain and with which I remain forever fascinated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Veronica Leahy \u201923<\/h1>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>If composers are allowed to contribute to the flow of the music stream through their voices,\u00a0Beethoven has imagined and was able to intervene\u00a0and change the riverbed.\u00a0In his middle period we can hear modernity, which can never become conventional: We hear the premonition of the conventional and its subversion in action. This is a live testimony for modernity because both are there, the convention and its subversion, the act of intervening for the sake of reexamination or finding a new path is asserted as something tangible, a kind of an essence of modernity which can be always experienced, regardless of style.<\/p>\n<p>However I am truly fascinated with Beethoven\u2019s late period. There all dialectics have melted away and ceased to exist.\u00a0The intense and conflicting emotions comprising the fabric of the music interweave into a new transparent fabric of unified\u00a0reflection. This fabric is so different from the fabric of dialectic of the middle period: In Beethoven\u2019s late period\u00a0he reaches a gaze, which has left the rebelliousness and anger behind\u00a0and originates in a bird view of emotionality and behavior, which is sublime and abstract. At times one is unsure whether\u00a0this is acceptance or total dissolution or delirium, whether this is utmost spirituality where one maintains a belief learned through emotional strain or a descent into the deepest crevices of the bodily existence and delirium. As unfathomable as it is, it seems to me to be both. The constant seismographic micromovements, which draw a path or a continuum between acceptance to dissolution or delirium makes the authenticity of this gaze even stronger and deeply touching for me.<\/p>\n<p>This gaze is strange.\u00a0It is at the same time universal and\u00a0truly singular. At its base there is a foreign element, which is like a diamond of expression which is not breakable, never diluted or possible to explain and with which I remain forever fascinated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Veronica Leahy \u201923<\/h1>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"wide","id":318238,"caption":"","creditText":"Courtesy of Veronica Leahy","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg","alt":"Veronica Leahy.","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg\" alt=\"Veronica Leahy.\" class=\"wp-image-318238\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg\" alt=\"Veronica Leahy.\" class=\"wp-image-318238\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg\" alt=\"Veronica Leahy.\" class=\"wp-image-318238\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Courtesy of Veronica Leahy<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>From all accounts, Beethoven was not only a great composer but also a legendary improviser. His famous improvisation duel with Daniel Steibelt was almost like the equivalent of a modern-day jam session. Something to note about this duel was that Beethoven did not fabricate an entire new sonic world on the fly; rather, he embellished upon the first few measures of the sheet music that Steibelt dramatically threw to the ground. His ability to embellish on themes and organically develop motifs is apparent throughout his entire catalog and is what has had the greatest impact on me as a composer and, perhaps even more, as an improviser. Sometimes the most compelling pieces or solos, regardless of genre, consist of taking a simple rhythm or a small sequence of notes and repeatedly turning it on its head. Beethoven could imagine the same melody from many different perspectives, which is quite remarkable considering that he could not literally hear them. Take his Fifth Symphony, which we all know and love. He could twist around those four notes in such compelling ways that, nearly two and half centuries later, we still feels its resonance and ingenuity. Beethoven\u2019s music can be connected with on both a highly intellectual and intuitive level, forcing both the mind and body to respond intensely.<\/p>\n\n","innerContent":["\n<p>From all accounts, Beethoven was not only a great composer but also a legendary improviser. His famous improvisation duel with Daniel Steibelt was almost like the equivalent of a modern-day jam session. Something to note about this duel was that Beethoven did not fabricate an entire new sonic world on the fly; rather, he embellished upon the first few measures of the sheet music that Steibelt dramatically threw to the ground. His ability to embellish on themes and organically develop motifs is apparent throughout his entire catalog and is what has had the greatest impact on me as a composer and, perhaps even more, as an improviser. Sometimes the most compelling pieces or solos, regardless of genre, consist of taking a simple rhythm or a small sequence of notes and repeatedly turning it on its head. Beethoven could imagine the same melody from many different perspectives, which is quite remarkable considering that he could not literally hear them. Take his Fifth Symphony, which we all know and love. He could twist around those four notes in such compelling ways that, nearly two and half centuries later, we still feels its resonance and ingenuity. Beethoven\u2019s music can be connected with on both a highly intellectual and intuitive level, forcing both the mind and body to respond intensely.<\/p>\n\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>From all accounts, Beethoven was not only a great composer but also a legendary improviser. His famous improvisation duel with Daniel Steibelt was almost like the equivalent of a modern-day jam session. Something to note about this duel was that Beethoven did not fabricate an entire new sonic world on the fly; rather, he embellished upon the first few measures of the sheet music that Steibelt dramatically threw to the ground. His ability to embellish on themes and organically develop motifs is apparent throughout his entire catalog and is what has had the greatest impact on me as a composer and, perhaps even more, as an improviser. Sometimes the most compelling pieces or solos, regardless of genre, consist of taking a simple rhythm or a small sequence of notes and repeatedly turning it on its head. Beethoven could imagine the same melody from many different perspectives, which is quite remarkable considering that he could not literally hear them. Take his Fifth Symphony, which we all know and love. He could twist around those four notes in such compelling ways that, nearly two and half centuries later, we still feels its resonance and ingenuity. Beethoven\u2019s music can be connected with on both a highly intellectual and intuitive level, forcing both the mind and body to respond intensely.<\/p>\n\n"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\">\n\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\r\n\n\r\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\r\n\n\r\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\r\n\n\r\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\n\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\">\n\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\r\n","\n\r\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\r\n","\n\r\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\r\n","\n\r\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\n\n<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n\t\t<p>Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music that has endured for centuries. Interpreted by classical musicians and contemporary artists alike, his work is found in everything from disco hits to movie scores to TV shows and rap songs. In his own day, the fiery, tempestuous composer was a skilled improviser and innovator, and the first major composer to include voices in his symphonic works. On the 250<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of his birth in December 1770, six Harvard-affiliated composers reflect on the continuing significance of his work.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yosvany Terry<\/h1>\n<p><em> Senior Lecturer on Music and Director of Jazz Ensembles<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yosvany_Terry_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yosvany Terry.\" class=\"wp-image-318136\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Rose Lincoln\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>Without a doubt, Beethoven was one of the most celebrated composers of his time. I believe he is one of those figures that you cannot escape, in the same way you can\u2019t escape Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. Studying music without studying Beethoven is like trying to become an opera composer without knowing Mozart, who contributed so much.<\/p>\n<p>Beethoven is very interesting because he represented that special connection between what historians would call Classicism and Romanticism, and you can see this transformation\/connection in his music. Another thing that fascinates me about Beethoven \u2014 in addition to his mastery of both composition and musical transformation \u2014 is that he was a great improviser. You can hear that, but you really see it when you study his music. It is known that he was an incredible improviser during his time and that ability, I think, brought freshness to the natural way in which he was able to take his music material and develop it over and over. I consider this to be one of the aspects that connects him with some genres of music that have improvisation at its core, and as a jazz and contemporary musician who studied classical music, I take a lot of inspiration from it. When you listen to his sonatas, piano trios, string quartets, symphonies, you are just facing a genius, and you have to stop and celebrate his ingenuity as a composer.<\/p>\n\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Piano Sonata No. 29 (\"Hammerklavier\") (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Hammerklavier.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\r\n\n<p>Beethoven also helped to revolutionize the pianoforte, which is one of the ancestors of the piano as we know it today, with his compositions and musical explorations. The \u201cHammerklavier\u201d sonata is a testament to how he pushes the boundaries of the instrument searching for new ways of expressions and sonorities. But to focus just on his piano work doesn\u2019t really capture the genius composer, because when you hear his music, you realize he really understood what for us is the ultimate instrument, the orchestra. He understood it from the inside out and in incredible detail.<\/p>\n<p>As a composer, you go back study the scores, analyze the music, and learn from the composition process and the principles that earlier composers created for their own work. Beethoven is one of the key figures you have to grapple with, like Bach, Mozart, Ravel, and Bartok. As a jazz artist, you need to study Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane. You cannot skip them.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Yvette J. Jackson<\/h1>\n<p><em> Assistant Professor, Department of Music<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Yvette_Jackson_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yvette Janine Jackson\" class=\"wp-image-318138\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>The first eight measures of the second movement of Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9<i> <\/i>are a magnificent whirlwind of energy. I cannot resist listening to a recording of the Molto vivace scherzo in D minor without repeating the opening sequence six or seven times before allowing the movement to unfold; it\u2019s an attempt to sustain the feeling that it brings me. The immediacy with which Beethoven demands the listener\u2019s attention is something I think about with my own compositions. I also think about who gets memorialized and who does not and the reasons behind these decisions.<\/p>\n<p>While the 250th anniversary of Beethoven\u2019s birth is being celebrated by different communities around the world, my attention is on George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, the Afro-European virtuosic violinist who inspired Beethoven\u2019s \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. Beethoven ended up removing his name from the dedication and, like many Black musicians and composers, Bridgetower\u2019s contributions have been forgotten or obscured until recently. As efforts to resurrect these histories are being expanded by artists, scholars, and artist-scholars, I am influenced by <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolecherryviolin.com\/forge-with-george\">FORGEWITHGEORGE<\/a> and its commissioned composers; it is a music project Nicole Cherry began in 2016 to celebrate Bridgetower\u2019s legacy. Cherry, assistant professor of violin at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is premiering a new body of repertory for solo or chamber violin each year until 2033, the 200th anniversary of the Slavery Abolitionist Act in England. (Bridgetower lived in London.) While audiences convene for online lecture series and virtual concerts to commemorate the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, I hope the same audiences will devote an equal level of enthusiasm toward learning more about the artists of color and women who have contributed without receiving the deserved recognition.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Matthew Aucoin \u201912<\/h1>\n<p><em>Director, American Modern Opera Company<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Aucoin_Matt_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Aucoin &#039;12\" class=\"wp-image-318140\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>One thing that sets Beethoven apart, especially from the Viennese Classical music of the generation before him, is its sheer explosiveness. You often have the sense, with the very first note of a Beethoven piece, that it bursts into existence as a result of some uncontainable pressure that must have been building for a long time before the piece was born, a pressure that finally became unbearable.<\/p>\n\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coriolan Overture (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven-coriolan.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\r\n\n<p>Just listen to the chords that open the \u201cEroica\u201d Symphony, or the\u00a0\u201cCoriolan\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em>Overture. These pieces begin with a tearing, rending gesture \u2014 some fabric is being ripped, some curtain is being torn down so that we can gain entry into a new space.\u00a0That was a radical gesture, fundamentally different from the way an immediate predecessor like Mozart would begin a piece. A lot of Mozart pieces seem to emerge fully formed, as if through a virgin birth. With Beethoven you can feel the struggle.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that sense of struggle, of effort, is part of what makes Beethoven\u2019s music so affecting. It\u2019s magnificently wrought, of course, but it almost never feels easy. There is clearly a human subject at the center of the whirlwind, standing calmly in the eye of the storm, and it can be a powerful experience, as you play Beethoven\u2019s music or listen to it, to try to identify with that subject.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Vijay Iyer<\/h1>\n<p><em> Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Iyer_Vijay_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Vijay Iyer\" class=\"wp-image-318134\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Stephanie Mitchell\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>Beethoven has occupied an outsized place in the U.S. zeitgeist for as long as I can remember. An arrangement of his Symphony No. 5 even showed up on the\u00a0\u201cSaturday Night Fever\u201d\u00a0soundtrack in 1977, when I was 6. Harvard's\u00a0string quartet in residence, the Parker Quartet, put out a<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/27ukrMT2QfUjw6X2R74Ty4?si=UVTO7gXTR0iV6Sq-5qWy2w\"> spectacular recording<\/a> last year of three of Beethoven\u2019s quartets. Even though I grew up playing and enjoying his music, I always felt a little removed from his legacy. The composer\u2019s presence in the American imagination plays into a fantasy of continuity with European culture, which is also imagined to be \u201cpure,\u201d free of any non-European presence.<\/p>\n\r\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-audio-transcript audio-transcript-wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group audio-title-wrapper is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symphony No. 5, first movement (Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, Simon Schindler)<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphony-5.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\r\n\n<p>But what we know of Beethoven\u2019s world complicates that picture, even beyond theories around his ethnic heritage that I won\u2019t get into here. The fact is that all of Europe participated in the economies of imperialism and enslavement, and the continent was home to many individuals who were born of those violent histories. Beethoven\u2019s Violin Sonata No. 9, more commonly known as the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata, was initially composed not for violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, but for the composer\u2019s friend, the Afro-European violinist and composer George Bridgetower. In 1803, Bridgetower performed a dazzling premiere of the piece, with the delighted Beethoven at the piano; but the two musicians quarreled after the concert, and the composer decided to revoke his original dedication.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years Bridgetower has been the subject of considerable research and speculation, notably in poet Rita Dove\u2019s book\u00a0\u201cSonata Mulattica.\u201d\u00a0In 2015 the violinist Jennifer Koh asked me to write a companion piece to the \u201cKreutzer\u201d sonata. My response was\u00a0\u201cBridgetower Fantasy,\u201d\u00a0a collection of musical imaginings about George Bridgetower.<\/p>\n<p>From our 21st-century vantage, considering Bridgetower\u2019s unique circumstance, we can only see him as an ambiguous figure who, in embodying difference, provoked inspiration, fantasy, desire, anger, and finally, erasure.\u00a0When reflecting on the greatness of a figure like Beethoven, I find it helpful to remind myself how much of music\u2019s history lies deep beneath its surface \u2014 and particularly how many great music-makers barely left a trace in the archive.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Chaya Czernowin<\/h1>\n<p><em> Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Beethoven_Czernowin_2500-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Chaya Czernowin,\" class=\"wp-image-318142\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Kris Snibbe\/Harvard file photo<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>If composers are allowed to contribute to the flow of the music stream through their voices,\u00a0Beethoven has imagined and was able to intervene\u00a0and change the riverbed.\u00a0In his middle period we can hear modernity, which can never become conventional: We hear the premonition of the conventional and its subversion in action. This is a live testimony for modernity because both are there, the convention and its subversion, the act of intervening for the sake of reexamination or finding a new path is asserted as something tangible, a kind of an essence of modernity which can be always experienced, regardless of style.<\/p>\n<p>However I am truly fascinated with Beethoven\u2019s late period. There all dialectics have melted away and ceased to exist.\u00a0The intense and conflicting emotions comprising the fabric of the music interweave into a new transparent fabric of unified\u00a0reflection. This fabric is so different from the fabric of dialectic of the middle period: In Beethoven\u2019s late period\u00a0he reaches a gaze, which has left the rebelliousness and anger behind\u00a0and originates in a bird view of emotionality and behavior, which is sublime and abstract. At times one is unsure whether\u00a0this is acceptance or total dissolution or delirium, whether this is utmost spirituality where one maintains a belief learned through emotional strain or a descent into the deepest crevices of the bodily existence and delirium. As unfathomable as it is, it seems to me to be both. The constant seismographic micromovements, which draw a path or a continuum between acceptance to dissolution or delirium makes the authenticity of this gaze even stronger and deeply touching for me.<\/p>\n<p>This gaze is strange.\u00a0It is at the same time universal and\u00a0truly singular. At its base there is a foreign element, which is like a diamond of expression which is not breakable, never diluted or possible to explain and with which I remain forever fascinated.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 class=\"compact-bottom\">Veronica Leahy \u201923<\/h1>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide  size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/beethoven_leahy.jpg\" alt=\"Veronica Leahy.\" class=\"wp-image-318238\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">\t\t\t<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Courtesy of Veronica Leahy<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>From all accounts, Beethoven was not only a great composer but also a legendary improviser. His famous improvisation duel with Daniel Steibelt was almost like the equivalent of a modern-day jam session. Something to note about this duel was that Beethoven did not fabricate an entire new sonic world on the fly; rather, he embellished upon the first few measures of the sheet music that Steibelt dramatically threw to the ground. His ability to embellish on themes and organically develop motifs is apparent throughout his entire catalog and is what has had the greatest impact on me as a composer and, perhaps even more, as an improviser. Sometimes the most compelling pieces or solos, regardless of genre, consist of taking a simple rhythm or a small sequence of notes and repeatedly turning it on its head. Beethoven could imagine the same melody from many different perspectives, which is quite remarkable considering that he could not literally hear them. Take his Fifth Symphony, which we all know and love. He could twist around those four notes in such compelling ways that, nearly two and half centuries later, we still feels its resonance and ingenuity. Beethoven\u2019s music can be connected with on both a highly intellectual and intuitive level, forcing both the mind and body to respond intensely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n"}},"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":175024,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2015\/10\/suffering-for-their-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":317631,"position":0},"title":"Behind the show, pages (and pages) of pain","author":"harvardgazette","date":"October 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"New show explores the meeting of art and illness with help from the work of author Ayn Rand and composer Ludwig van Beethoven.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arts &amp; Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arts &amp; Culture","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/arts-humanities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/101415_oberon_168_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/101415_oberon_168_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/101415_oberon_168_605.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65871,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2010\/11\/overjoyed\/","url_meta":{"origin":317631,"position":1},"title":"Overjoyed","author":"harvardgazette","date":"November 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Taking his audience on a musical journey through time, Harvard music professor Thomas Kelly explored the first performance of Ludwig van Beethoven\u2019s Ninth Symphony at the Harvard Allston Education Portal.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campus &amp; Community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campus &amp; Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/2010_11_8-ed-portal-_first-nights_05-web_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/2010_11_8-ed-portal-_first-nights_05-web_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/2010_11_8-ed-portal-_first-nights_05-web_605.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":279993,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2019\/07\/gene-editing-tool-prevents-hearing-loss-in-mice-with-hereditary-deafness\/","url_meta":{"origin":317631,"position":2},"title":"Single letter speaks volumes","author":"harvardgazette","date":"July 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Scientists have used an optimized version of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system to prevent hearing loss in so-called Beethoven mice, which carry a genetic mutation that causes profound hearing loss in humans and mice alike.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Science &amp; Tech&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Science &amp; Tech","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/science-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hearingtrip.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hearingtrip.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hearingtrip.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hearingtrip.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":176070,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2015\/11\/along-chinas-keys\/","url_meta":{"origin":317631,"position":3},"title":"Along China\u2019s keys","author":"harvardgazette","date":"November 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On view at Loeb Music Library through Dec. 18, \u201cOne Hundred Years of Chinese Piano Music\u201d sheds light on a robust tradition of song influenced by native folklore, poems, and philosophy, as well as Western compositional techniques.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arts &amp; Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arts &amp; Culture","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/arts-humanities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/110915_chinamusic_030_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/110915_chinamusic_030_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/110915_chinamusic_030_605.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":243558,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2018\/05\/emanuel-ax\/","url_meta":{"origin":317631,"position":4},"title":"Emanuel Ax guides listeners from Beethoven to Brahms","author":"gazettejohnbaglione","date":"May 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Grammy-winning pianist Emanuel Ax visited Harvard to discuss the influence of Beethoven on Brahms.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arts &amp; Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arts &amp; Culture","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/arts-humanities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/043018_ax_024_2500.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/043018_ax_024_2500.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/043018_ax_024_2500.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/043018_ax_024_2500.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9326,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2006\/04\/teaching-educators-to-be-data-wise\/","url_meta":{"origin":317631,"position":5},"title":"Teaching educators to be data wise","author":"gazetteimport","date":"April 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, in public schools across Massachusetts, students were racking their brains to show what they know on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test. The test results, which will be released in the fall, will provide data that show students proficiency in English language arts, mathematics, and science and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campus &amp; Community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campus &amp; Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131912115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317631"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":318281,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317631\/revisions\/318281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317631"},{"taxonomy":"format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gazette-formats?post=317631"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=317631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}