WEEK OF 081013: SCHUMANN // BEETHOVEN // HAYDN
Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze
Some of Schumann's piano work doesn't appeal to me immediately, but I know that with repeated listens I am able to probe into it to find his fractured mind. By the end of the week I don't want to stop listening to it.
Haydn: String Quartet, Op.20,no.6
I decided that this week I would have to find something less somber to listen to, as I finally ended my long stretch of homelessness and found a home (the graduate student co-op) in which I am now residing (albeit on a temporary basis). Although this quartet comes during Haydn's "Sturm und drang" period, this quartet is very light and pleasant, and has helped me feel some comfort this week as I embark on a new experience of a complicated yet bold new living experience, and grapple with my own directions in life.
Beethoven: Piano Quintet
I believe this is an earlier piece of Ludwig's, and I've listened to a version of it that has again smoothed out his idiosyncrasies, but that is fine for me right now, as I'm not looking for terror or agitation this week. The wind instruments in this piece are appealing, as lately I've been intrigued by them. This seems to be a rather lighthearted piece (though there is depth if you look for it in the right places, as there always is with Beethoven).