Beethoven: "Name Day" Overture, Op. 115 (with Score)

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  • Опубліковано 22 тра 2019
  • Ludwig van Beethoven:
    "Name Day (Feastday)" Overture, Op. 115 (with Score)
    Composed: 1815
    Conductor: Claudio Abbado
    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
    Beethoven's concert overture, Namensfeier (Name Day) received its first performance on December 25, 1815, at a charity concert in the Redoutensaal of Vienna's Hofburg. It was not published until April 1825, by Steiner in Vienna, with a dedication to Prince Anton Heinrich Radziwill (1775-1833), an amateur composer who met Beethoven while in Vienna for the Congress in 1814-15. Radziwill also received the dedication of the Twenty-Five Scottish Songs, Op. 108. Having written the Namensfeier overture in honor of the Kaiser's birthday, Beethoven hoped the piece would rekindle his temporaily flagging popularity, but he had no such luck. The piece did not please then, nor at later performances in London, and it is rarely heard today. Patriotic and ceremonial requirements rarely brought out Beethoven's best, for his was a profoundly individualistic soul.
    The overture took its title from Beethoven's intention of having it performed on the name-day festival of Emperor Franz of Austria, on October 4, 1814. Beethoven did not get the work together in time, and Fidelio was chosen for the evening's entertainment instead. Beethoven set the overture aside, eventually completing it in March 1815. Many of the ideas in the overture were sketched several years earlier as Beethoven pursued one of his several attempts at setting Schiller's "Ode to Joy."
    The fortissimo opening C major chord, for the full orchestra, is clearly meant to seize people's attention. Stately dotted rhythms in a Maestoso tempo, reminiscent of a French overture, lead to quiet melodic passage, first in the horns, later in the violins. With the onset of an Allegro tempo and 6/8 time begins a sonata-form structure. The bassoons play the first theme, the tail end of which quickly spreads throughout the orchestra. While the first theme group and transitional material are generally the property of the woodwinds, the dolce G major secondary theme is entrusted to the first violins and viola and is immediately echoed in the flute. The development section is brief and not overly adventurous, and the recapitulation follows the expected path, although with re-orchestrated passages and slight variations on exposition material. A more rousing close would be difficult to find in the music of Beethoven. Beethoven felt the Overture did "not belong to my best and great works," and it is easy to hear why. Nothing particularly inventive occurs in the piece, which, at moments, verges on the bombastic. Namesnfeier was not composed for the ages, but for the moment, and has not enjoyed success in either category. (www.allmusic.com/composition/...)

КОМЕНТАРІ • 28

  • @fcovone
    @fcovone 4 роки тому +37

    Dear Ludwig, once you said: "People don't like my music today? Well, I don't give a shit. One day, somewhen in the future, people will finally understand and love it!'. As usual, you, immense genius, were totally right. This overture is one of the many proofs of your bright vision.
    The 'Zur Namensfeier' Op. 115 - Overture piece was never one of Beethoven's more popular works and is seldom played today. What a pity!
    It's a hidden gem which I think should be played more, and MORE!

    • @aidankwek8340
      @aidankwek8340 3 роки тому +7

      Beethoven really deserves to have his lesser known works discovered by more people, especially in his 250th year.

    • @fcovone
      @fcovone 3 роки тому

      @@aidankwek8340 I totally agree. 😊👍

    • @davemiller7633
      @davemiller7633 3 роки тому +2

      Completely agree. An absolute masterpiece

    • @fcovone
      @fcovone 3 роки тому

      @@davemiller7633 Thank you for your comment, really appreciated. 🙏

    • @stargate1555
      @stargate1555 2 роки тому +3

      Beethoven's musicians complained that his music was impossible to play. Beethoven said, "I didn't write this for you, I wrote it for another time."

  • @RicardoGrion
    @RicardoGrion 3 роки тому +6

    Just one word: "Genius" !!!

  • @mirrors1
    @mirrors1 3 роки тому +3

    Grande Ludwig

  • @hrobro2376
    @hrobro2376 3 місяці тому

    A WIDE PATH to the music of the future

  • @maestrotownsend8833
    @maestrotownsend8833 4 роки тому +10

    Why am I just discovering this overture in 2019? Sad.

  • @hjo4104
    @hjo4104 4 роки тому +4

    0:56 - 2:01

  • @user-nd7cp8bk1k
    @user-nd7cp8bk1k 4 місяці тому

    Mizell likes it ❤❤

  • @AmyRitt
    @AmyRitt Місяць тому

    Hey Iove this overture
    my name is Amy.

  • @tepmich
    @tepmich 3 роки тому +1

    Heavens predicted to Beethoven the inevitable dramatical events of our times - Prophets are rarely trusted !!! Tepper Michael.

  • @fabiograssi670
    @fabiograssi670 2 роки тому +1

    Honestly, not Beethoven's best...

    • @therealrealludwigvanbeethoven
      @therealrealludwigvanbeethoven Рік тому +2

      Well, obviously not. But if we only listened to the "absolute best," our repertoire would be very, very limited---don't you think?

    • @fabiograssi670
      @fabiograssi670 Рік тому

      @@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven Sure.

    • @dzinypinydoroviny
      @dzinypinydoroviny 10 місяців тому +1

      What do you consider Beethoven's best?

    • @fabiograssi670
      @fabiograssi670 10 місяців тому +1

      @@dzinypinydorovinyThe best of the best imho are the last piano sonatas and the last quartets.

    • @dzinypinydoroviny
      @dzinypinydoroviny Місяць тому

      ​@@fabiograssi670 Agreed. As much as I love most of Beethoven's works, some of the late quartets and sonatas almost seem "too good even for Beethoven".