Enrolled in music appreciation class this month. The topic is Beethoven. There’s so much to learn when one’s only exposure to music is made up of personal favorite repertoires.  Beethoven’s 3^rd Symphony, Eroica, has always been my favorite. Of course his 9^th is also loved for its power.

The first class took up the sonata form, which has become standard for all music since the 1750s. Much like a literary composition, sonatas have an opening theme which is developed and then recapitulates. http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/forms1.html

Here are a few Beethoven notes:

1.     Beethoven straddled the classical and the romantic eras

2.     His works were post (French) revolutionary

3.     Beethoven was an innovator, adding to older forms and surprising with new ideas

4.     His pieces condensed musical form for easier listening

5.     He brought his main themes back as a reminder for his listeners

6.     He played to the public, not the aristocracy

In other words, he was a business man, because he earned his living the way today’s orchestras earn it—by a paying audience, not an elite few.

Starting out as a pianist, he made full use of the development of the instrument taking place during his time. His phenomenal abilities demanded an expansion of the keyboard, bringing this instrument closer to its current form.