The Notorious LVB: 1802 - 1803

It's 1802, and our friend Ludvig is getting grumpy. He even gets into a fistfight with his brother, who is also his business manager (it's always about the money isn't it?) and they take it to the street, rolling around in the mud. (I'm beginning to really like this guy.)

At least these guys had the class to keep in on the stage:

But then again these blokes not only involve another band but another continent, too.

So what's pissing off Ludvig van? Well, he's starting to realize he's going deaf. This is not you and me in our sixties just having to turn up the volume a bit more. This is a young genius with his whole future in music in doubt. It's understandable that he considers suicide.

The music he premiered in 1803 - mostly written the year before - represents the phase in his career before deafness took over.

Piano Concerto Number 3:

This one's more regal, more Beethovian, and overall less fun than numero uno. 

And the video agrees. Artur/Arthur has that high starched collar that says riff-raff need not apply. And even with us (I assume you're riff-raff, too...) not being in the room Artur/Arthur doesn't seem to be having ANY FUN AT ALL. You wouldn't either if you weren't sure how to spell your own name. But I'll give him this. He gives a shit.

So I'm not saying this is bad. It's just not as playful as the first. And no I don't think it has much to do with Katherina whats-her-name (aside from the fact that she's clearly having a good time). Something is wrong here. Beethoven's losing his hearing and may not even realize it yet. So he's playing it a little safe, even as his abilities increase.

There's a great story about how he was the soloist for the premiere of this piece (more $ that way, you see), and that by then he still hadn't bothered to write a lot of it down, and ended up playing his part from memory. Rehearsals were...tense.  Sounds like a very Dylan thing to do.

Things do pick up at the end of the first movement. And like in the first Concerto the Second movement is that calm oasis before the final movement, which on the whole is okay but not overwhelming.

In short, great for a guy losing his hearing, but just very good in the grand scheme of things.

B+

"Piano Concerto Number Three"

Symphony Two:

This premiered on the same day as the piano concerto! 

It's been said that the odd-numbered symphonies are the best, so it shouldn't be surprising that things aren't a vast improvement from what came before. In fact, it's just as good as number one, just not a quantum leap from it. 

But it is more single-minded, more confident, even with the increasing deafness becoming more apparent. It’s also a little longer than One. LV is stretching out. He knows what he wants to do. He’s emerged with a vision and a complete sense of identity.

And with the first movement, right out of the box, there it is! Kablam! LV is in the house! It's about halfway through when you get that trademark Beethovian seriousness combined with speed, like the early Clash. 

In the first movement, for twelve minutes he wiped the floor with you, but then in the second, for ten minutes, he tries to show you he’s really a sweet guy after all. And convinces you.

In the third movement, things get louder, but not faster. A nice transition.

And in the fourth, it's off to the races, sort of. Fast, slow, loud, quiet - like the Pixies. 

Running thirty-plus minutes - a respectable late-sixties album-length - it's about eight minutes longer than One, which is why I prefer the latter.

If you approach it in terms of vinyl, Symphony One being side one and Symphony Two side two, you might end up thinking Aqualung.

He’s getting better, but the first is still my fave.

 

A-

"Symphony Number Two"