I have been listening to some lectures on Beethoven. I can't believe everything he went through. His father, who sat around the house all day and got drunk every evening, beat him to make him play the piano and stay at the piano until he could be a better child prodigy than Mozart, who was a mere fourteen years older than Beethoven (talk about a drastic difference in style in such a short time-Beethoven really changed things about music). One time he woke him up at one in the morning after he got home from the tavern and made him play the piano until sunrise. I'm surprised he could stand to see a piano after those experiences. A study concluded that he had about 100 times the normal lead content in his body by his death. His love relationships never worked out, due mostly to the fact that he always chose unavailable women. It has been very interesting to learn about him.
I am off to vacation in Seattle tomorrow (mainly because my parents are driving and so it costs nothing for me to go there). I will be gone for about ten days. It should be lovely to be back in my hometown.
2 comments:
Sounds like some interesting stuff you are learning about Beethoven. Where did you find the lectures? (I agree that Beethoven did more to change music than Mozart did--to me a lot of Mozart's music sounds like anybody could have written it since it's pretty but not all that complicated while Beethoven's has real passion in it. I could listen to him all day!) Have fun in Seattle!
I go to the local library and just browse the books on tape and books on CD shelves. It is a pretty awesome library so they have lots of selection. It is really fun.
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