WEEK OF 080623: BRAHMS // BEETHOVEN
Brahms: Symphony 4 (Op.98)
I suppose I should be listening to Brahms more often, since I like Beethoven so much. I enjoyed the first Brahms symphony, so I decided to see where his last one would take me. Brahms is really an extension of Beethoven, but I feel like the turmoil is a bit forced. It's like how so many rock musicians sang like Kurt Cobain even though they weren't really going through the same kind of pain. Anyway, the movements are actually quite coherent with each other, which is nice. Supposedly this piece quotes many other works by other composers, and thus is a bit scholastic, but none of that matters to me. I can't quite pick a favorite movement, the whole thing is good. I listened to Solti. I also grabbed Bernstein and Ormandy, but didn't find much difference.
Beethoven: Piano Trio 6 (Op.70, no.2)
I originally selected the first Piano Trio because I saw it performed last year, but I had to reject it after a few listens because, despite glimpsing the mania later to come in Beethoven's work, the piece is too light for me, especially to go alongside the Brahms. This piece is a bit exuberant, too, it also got on my nerves. The third movement is like a pop tune (you'll want to hum it), and the fourth is jolly and fast, but the first two movements are more typical of the Beethoven I enjoy -- sweet and sour, with a couple of hot chili peppers hiding in there, waiting to knock you around...