Beethoven, maar dan zoals die tegenwoordig zelden gehoord wordt. Aan het begin van de negentiende eeuw waren Beethovens werken zeer populair, maar uitvoeringen relatief zeldzaam en dus doken al snel arrangementen op die in kleinere kring gespeeld konden worden. Van Swieten Society nam eerder al de kamermuziekbewerking die Beethoven zelf maakte van zijn tweede symfonie op. Nu volgen de derde en vijfde symfonie, in bewerkingen van Beethovens tijdgenoot Hummel en Beethovens leerling Ries. De beginmaten van de vijfde zijn overbekend, maar klinken opvallend fris gespeeld door fortepiano, cello, fluit en (alt)viool. Waar Hummels bewerking meer een pianoarrangement is met dubbelingen door de overige instrumenten, is Ries’ bewerking van de derde ingenieuzer, met een prachtige rolverdeling. Beide worden heerlijk energiek gespeeld door de op authentieke instrumenten spelende Van Swieten Society.
Beethoven's Salon Symphonies nr 3 en 5
Van Swieten Society
The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) were immensely popular at the beginning of the 19th century. However, performances of these masterpieces were relatively rare, and not every music lover was in a position to hear orchestral concerts on a regular basis. For this reason, many were destined to enjoy their favourite symphonic works in the form of arrangements that they played at home themselves.
There were quite a few composers yet to come who would arrange all of the Beethoven’s symphonies for a specific instrumental combination. There were well-known composers such as Franz Liszt who arranged all the symphonies for solo piano, and less famous figures like Hugo Ulrich who composed four-hand arrangements of the works. The wealth of arrangements of these symphonic masterpieces leaves no room to dispute the fact that Beethoven’s symphonies were more often heard in chamber music form than in their original symphonic orchestration. This is true of Beethoven’s time as well as for a long time thereafter. With the establishment of professional orchestras across the Western world, the demand for these chamber arrangements dwindled and the development of the gramophone recording put an end to their importance completely. The Van Swieten Society is eager to bring this forgotten style of performing symphonic works back to life, complete with original period instruments of the era and the accompanying stylistic expressive language.
Other information
The Van Swieten Society performs repertoire from the classical and early romantic periods on historical instruments while taking into account the performance practices of the period. In addition to the well known masterpieces from roughly the years 1750-1850, they play works by unjustly forgotten composers as well. The beautiful ingredients makes for surprising programs that often include spectacular ´new´ music.
