The final month of our U3A musical journeying has seen us staying close to Beethoven as his world-wide 250th anniversary celebrations draw to a close. There have been a couple of jumps ahead to the 20th century in the first session as we explored the ‘jazziness’ of George Gershwin’s Concerto in F played with “pizzazz” by 18yo soloist Alexander Molofeev, before allowing ourselves to be wafted away by Debussy’s Sonata for flute, viola and harp. But after that it was Beethoven all the way : his one and only Violin Concerto, the Waldstein Piano Sonata, a Bagatelle “Für Elise” (whoever she was), and finally the monumental 9th Symphony with its message of the universal brotherhood of mankind to wrap up both the year and our acknowledgement of the place Beethoven occupies in musical history.
To say that we have explored Beethoven in depth would be to stretch the truth, but amongst the many of his compositions we have featured, we at least have included all of the “Top 20” as voted by the listening public in the ABC Classic FM Beethoven Top 100” survey.
You can check out all of Music Appreciation's twice-monthly sessions on this page. If you like what you see, why not enrol with us for 2021? You would be most welcome.
Bill Squire
To say that we have explored Beethoven in depth would be to stretch the truth, but amongst the many of his compositions we have featured, we at least have included all of the “Top 20” as voted by the listening public in the ABC Classic FM Beethoven Top 100” survey.
You can check out all of Music Appreciation's twice-monthly sessions on this page. If you like what you see, why not enrol with us for 2021? You would be most welcome.
Bill Squire
Class Notes:
The following recording of 18 year old Alexander Malofeev playing Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F with the Russian National Orchestra is conducted by Mikail Pletnev.
