Beethoven in contemporary and modern music

The history of music: Ludwig van Beethoven. And although the day of his birth is not known with certainty. Newborns within 24 hours of coming into the world, the 16th was marked as their birthday and even Beethoven himself agreed.

In 56 years of life, Beethoven developed a work of such perfection and innovation that it earned him the consideration of everyone and at all times. Although he often falls into an idealization of his figure as the archetype of genius according to the standards of Romanticism (lonely, disturbed, misunderstood, talented from birth), the character of his compositions is undeniable.

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Notable mainly for his piano sonatas and symphonies, Beethoven came up with a work that experts divide into three stages:

The classical period (until 1802): The influences of Mozart and Haydn's clacisism are noted.

The heroic period (from 1802 to 1814): Here Beethoven flashes bombast. After his personal crisis and his incipient deafness, he surrendered to the great forms. He composes, among other things, from Symphony No. 3 (known as "La Heroica", in fact) to Symphony No. 8; also Fidelio , his only opera, and sonatas of all kinds ("La Apasionada" is the best known of this time).

The late period (from 1814 to his death in 1827): From the study of the baroque Bach and Handel, he takes the fugues to compose very majestic works: the Solemn Mass , the Great Fugue and the Symphony No. 9 , which adds a chorus in the last movement (the now known as "Hymn to joy "), quite a novelty at that time.

Such was the genius of Beethoven and the iconic character of his figure that pop culture did not hesitate to appropriate him, sometimes in a testimonial way (the dog movie!) And other times in more reflective ways. Chavo's music, a scene from Los simuladores, to a Kiss song and the size of the CD: here are examples of quotes to Beethoven's music that you might not have known about.

El Chavo - Turkish March

Beethoven wrote the "Turkish March" as an overture for a work called "The Ruins of Athens" in 1811. More than a century and a half later (in 1970, to be exact), electronic musician Jean-Jacques Perrey reverted it with moogs and he titled it "The Elephant Never Forgets." That version is the one that became the opening music of El chavo del 8. Blame him on your mom, Ludwig.

Leo García - "Hymn to joy"

The bridge that Leo García puts in "Reírme más" is clearly recognizable, but it is well worth talking about what is possibly the most popular melody in the history of Western music. Posta, if you have never heard the "Hymn to Joy" there are many chances that you are extraterrestrial. Beethoven introduced that ode as part of the last movement of his Symphony No. 9, and its origins can be traced in a 1796 own composition on a poem to an unrequited love and also in Domini K.'s offertory Missericordias. 222 by Mozart. So yes, the "Hymn to Joy" has a broken heart and sacrifice in its DNA. Calm down

Another fact about the historical relevance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (also called the "Choral Symphony" because of the little theme of having a choir, something that symphonies did not have until then): we owe the size and duration of the CDs to it. Yes, when the first compact discs were being worked on towards the end of the 70s, they had a diameter of 11.5 cm and could support up to 60 minutes of recorded music. Norio Ohga, president of Sony (the company that developed the format together with Philips) realized that with that size the Ninth Symphony would not enterby Beethoven, which in its faster (and therefore shorter) versions always exceeded 63 minutes. As one of the most popular versions up to that time, and one of the longest, it lasted 74:33, the diameter of the CD was enlarged to the 12 centimeters with which we know them today.

Kiss - The Pathetic Sonata (2nd movement)

In 1976, Kiss released the great album of his career: Destroyer. With the help of Bob Ezrin in production, the quartet polished all aspects of their music for the definitive consecration. "Great Expectations" is not one of the best known, it is true (difficult to compete with "Detroit Rock City", "Shout It Out Loud" or "Beth"), but it introduces a tribute to Beethoven. How? Ezrin took a fragment of the "Pathetic Sonata" (that's why the data had to be remembered) and used it to build the theme that closes the A-side of the makeup album.

The simulators - "Seventh Symphony" (Second Movement)

The second movement of the Seventh Symphony is so good that Beethoven was asked for it in the encores. What he did not imagine was that about 200 years later he was going to score a chapter of Los simuladores. In the scene of the chapter "Solomon's Ring" that you see above, what sounds is that movement, the Allegretto, in which the different sections of the orchestra pass the two melodies that are interwoven in counterpoint (there is another reference to Beethoven in that episode, patience). The same movement also sounds in a scene from X-Men: Apocalypse.

Another place where you may have heard it: before making the most popular riff since electric guitar existed, the Deep Purple flashed psychedelia, progressive rock and classical music. Jon Lord from the keyboards commanded things towards the end of the 60s (later Blackmore would take over and the story would be another) and led them on the path of majesty. In The Book of Tailesyn (their second album, released in 1968) they put "We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles, they distorted everything and added an epic intro that they titled "Exposition" (data: "Exposition" is called the first part of the sonata form in which the main melody is exposed) and they added fragments of music by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.

The Beatles - "Sonata Claro de Luna"

The Beatles once covered Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven", yes, but Beethoven doesn't sound there (it does sound in the Electric Light Orchestra rereading, #data). Lennon and McCartney quoted the great German composer on "Because," the Abbey Road theme . The intro arpeggio, played by George Martin, comes from Beethoven's famous "Moonlight Sonata". The original name of the piece is much less poetic (Piano Sonata No. 14 Quasi una fantasia), but in the 19th century a critic pointed out that this arpeggio sounded "like the reflection of the moon shining on Lake Lucerne" and of there came the name by which it is known now.

We will attend you right away

In the era of monophonic ringtones and before answering machines could play music in mp3 quality (at least), this was the hit that sounded when Customer Service put you on hold. It was also very trade alarm. "Para Elisa" is a classic for any piano apprentice, even for Mario Santos and Pablito Lescano . In musical terms it is a trifle in the shape of a rondo (ABACADA).

The now-lost manuscript was discovered by the writer and music student Ludwig Nohl in 1867 (40 years after Beethoven's death). It is stipulated that it was composed in April 1810 and its technical name is Bagatella No. 25 in A minor, the "Für Elise" ("For Elisa") comes from the dedication it included. Who was Elisa? Well, there are three theories. One says that it was not really Elise but Therese (Malfatti) a friend and student of Beethoven to whom he proposed in 1810 ... but she did not accept. The second says that the recipient was Elisabeth Röckel, a soprano who sang in one of Fidelio's productions.(Beethoven's opera) and with whom the musician would also have wanted to marry, without success again. The third and final theory raises the possibility that it was written for Elise Barensfeld, a child prodigy (Salieri's student) for whom Beethoven would have composed the piece so that she could study piano.