Beethoven's Fourth Symphony: How can a Creative Discovery be Replicated 200 Years Later, by a Professor?

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (June 12, 2020)

Today's performance practices are often informed by the HIP (Historically Informed Performances movement). While HIP has undoubtedly contributed many important musicological discoveries, it insists adherence to what they term "the composer's intent"—performance practices of the time—as the only valid method of performance. They have made many changes in performance practice, but often ignore the greatest fidelity one can express to the composer's intent: replicating his or her creative breakthroughs.

The great conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler, who is often vilified by the HIPsters, wrote about the problem:

“Literal rendering plays a major role in the practice and reception of music today. Fidelity to the letter as against fidelity to the sense, formalism as against life. everything that is dead, decayed,... is present in the concept of literal rendering.”

For Furtwangler, a great conductor is a creative person, who can replicate the improvisational nature of a discovery, and make it seems to the audience as though it is being discovered for the first time, right there, before their very eyes and ears. A true conductor has to think like the composer.

The introduction to the first movement of Beethoven's little-known Symphony No. 4 in B♭ major, Op. 60, is perfect for this reason. It is almost impossible to play it in a matter of fact, metronomical way. Yet, some conductors try very hard to do so. For them, polishing and waxing the finished product is the reality, not replicating the discoveries that went into it. In the audio, we present three very different renditions of this introduction. We hope they engender some impassioned commentary.

The introduction is designed to evoke the quality of discovering something totally new. When the discovery is made, it is elementary, but powerful. One can hardly miss it. Not everyone was a fan. The famous composer, Carla Maria von Weber wrote:

“First a slow movement full of short disjointed unconnected ideas, at the rate of three or four notes per quarter of an hour; then a mysterious roll of the drum and passage of the violas, seasoned with the proper quantity of pauses and ritardandos; and to end all a furious finale, in which the only requisite is that there should be no ideas for the hearer to make out, but plenty of transitions from one key to another – on to the new note at once! never mind modulating – above all things, throw rules to the winds, for they only hamper a genius.”

Weber was not a bad composer. Many of his works survive today. Beethoven thought well of him. Yet, how many observed the 200th anniversary of his death in 1986? Many other talented composers thought the same way as Weber. Their problem? Europe was retreating into an increasing police state, and they, as mere musicians, became, at least in part, crowd-pleasers. Beethoven was a crowd-challenger, and he made them uncomfortable.

Our audio begins with a HIP performer—the famous John Eliot Gardner—who employs period instruments, but to our minds, plays metronomically and misses the discovery.

The second version is by one of the great creative personalities of the 20th century—Pablo Casals. Here, we feel as though we have just set foot on to a new planet, with no even ground. Casals was anything but a professor. When he revived the long-forgotten Cello Suites of J.S. Bach, some professors objected to his animated and spirited performances. They felt that the Suites were abstract exercises in counterpoint and not even meant to be played. Casals cajoled: "They wanted to turn Bach into a professor!"

There is more than one way to do it correctly. The third version is by another great creative personality, the above-quoted Wilhelm Furtwangler. His focus on the breakthrough moment of discovery is astounding.

https://soundcloud.com/user-385773006/daily-dose-june-12th

PS: We have concentrated a lot on portions of a work per day, as we wish to never leave anyone new to classical music behind. However, classical music consists of multiple movements for a reason. Therefore, we will address entire works over several days!