# Bonus PTB - Beethoven Gumdrops



## itywltmt

*For my loyal readers on TC:* you are aware that my "regular" blog is going to be posted TOMORROW as I have something special for "This Day in Music History". However, I wanted to post a "quickie" pair of Beethoven pieces, in keeping with ITYWLTMT's on-going Beethoven Project, where I plan to post all nine Beethoven symphonies and other major works (in whole or in part) on my YouTube channel, to be enjoyed anytime, anywhere there is Internet coverage.

So, without further ado, _The Ruis of Athens_ and a performance of the _Fourth_ Symphony:

_Die Ruinen von Athen_ (The Ruins of Athens), Op. 113
Overture and eight numbers for soloists, chorus and orchestra

Neumar Starling, Soprano
Vladimir de Kanel, Baritone
Berliner Symphoniker, Berliner Konzertchor, conducted by Hans Hubert Schoenzeler
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9741174BE78CBA21

Symphony no. 4, in B flat Major, op. 60
Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Carlos Kleiber
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA96B1C77F5D4569B

*September 23 2011, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will be adding a new montage "The Fall Equinox" to its Pod-O-Matic Podcast. Read our English and French commentary September 23rd on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


----------



## Sid James

i find it harder to grasp beethoven's 4th than any other of his symphonie i know well so far (only the first two syms are less known to me overall than the rest). even heard the 4th in concert. it comes across to me as more kind of "haydn-like" than the others, maybe? kind of more "classical era," but not exactly, as it comes after the groundbreaking "eroica." so what do i make of it? a hybrid between the classical & romantic? i'm not sure, i'll have to revisit it sometime soon, probably on disc (it's getting more of an airing live here than the case previously, which is good)...


----------



## itywltmt

Bernstein's vignette (his pre-concert briefing) on Beethoven's 4th - part of his Bernstein*/Beethoven TV series *from the late '70s.






In that vignette, he talks of the "somber, almost ominous" start to the symphony, and how it magically turns into a "veritable funfest" of music. I find that to be a satisfactory explanation - and mindset - to "take in" the _Fourth_.


----------

