Posted on 03/18/2016 9:01:47 AM PDT by poconopundit
A bit of the old Donald J. to start the day.
Schnapps?
The score pictured above is the opening of Beethoven’s 5th symphony.
Indeed. I noticed that too! It should have been the familiar strains of “Ode To Joy” to accompany the article, rather than the also majestic opening strain of the 5th Symphony.
Thanks so much. You inspired me to surf to some great music which is soothing my ears after listening to all the non-stop Trump-bashing on the cables.
Leni
Beethoven was no doubt a great composer but dignity? Certainly at times he was dignified and certainly was that way about his music but he probably died from syphilis and hepatitis both probably contracted sexually. The syphilis probably caused his hearing loss. He drank to excess and was generally a royal pain to be around. Basically the aging rock star of his day.
You’ll also notice many parallels in Beethoven’s character to another Olympian artist in the fields of business and politics.
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Many parallels?
Irritability. Irascibility. Bipolar disorder.
“Beethoven’s personal life was troubled by his encroaching deafness and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain (beginning in his twenties) which led him to contemplate suicide (documented in his Heiligenstadt Testament). Beethoven was often irascible. It has been suggested he had bipolar disorder.”
Yes, the above is pulled from wikipedia. But all of that info above is footnoted to legit sources.
Somehow I doubt that’s what you had in mind when comparing the character of these 2 folks.
Let’s see if Trump’s name is still remembered as fondly as is Beethoven’s 200 years after his death.
I think the pre-electronics, pre-recording, pre-broadcasting composers had the isolation necessary for concentration and creativity.
Back in those days if you wanted to hear music you had to go where people played it. Isn’t it interesting that to this day none of the orchestral instruments need to be plugged in.
It amazes me that the piano, with 88 identical hammer-driving mechanisms, was invented and manufactured way back then. The action is the same today as it was a hundred years ago (I think). The grand has a more complex action than uprights. These actions, when in good condition, work perfectly and silently and are nothing but wood, felt and a little metal.
It still amazes me that I can listen to Beethoven anytime, anywhere, at the push of a button. I often wish he could come back and hear himself on modern equipment.
Interesting. I would have never known :-)
| What you say is true. Our modern age has not really improved on the acoustic piano. My daughter took lessons and could play some beautiful pieces, but now that she's gone we sold our piano and it was sad to see it go. I think you can isolate yourself successfully today, but it takes a little more effort. I don't own a personal cell phone because I find it a distraction. But nevertheless, I am addicted to FR :- ) |
Beethoven is my favorite composer. His music expresses what I feel.
Music Bump.
You make a good point. I looked up the word dignity and found one definition here:
"a man of dignity and unbending principle" Mencken admitted that Beethoven the person was in many ways undignified. But when it came to music, Beethoven was able to tap into a certain power or genius that other men could not. And I thoroughly agree that many rock stars are not dignified either. Even still, the quality of the best rock music and Beethoven can be respected regardless of the man or woman behind it. Perhaps Mencken should have said "a man of genius" instead of a "man of dignity". What do you think? |
” I don’t own a personal cell phone because I find it a distraction. But nevertheless, I am addicted to FR”
My wife and I have one cell phone that neither of us regularly carries.
I’ll admit that I might be called addicted to FR. I love it in part because it comes up so quickly and has worthwhile content. We all need to contribute to it. I do, but probably not “my fair share”.
“It still amazes me that I can listen to Beethoven anytime, anywhere, at the push of a button”
The cell phone, the internet, the GPS, and throw in cheap powerful audio amplifiers, have given us a new world.
I remember when a 30 watt hi-fi amp was pretty powerful.
bump for later
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