Happy Birthday Beethoven! I Wonder…

Happy Birthday Beethoven! I Wonder…how much we really think about the devaluation of music, art, culture and how little of our attention and energy we give to it’s appreciation? I wonder, do we even know how poor our live are without it? I am listening to Joanne Falletta curate a radio program about Beethoven. The premiere of Beethoven Symphony No. 5 was conducted by Beethoven himself, followed by Beethoven Symphony No. 6, also conducted by Beethoven, then Piano Concerto No. 4, Beethoven as soloist, then an interlude of Beethoven improvising at the piano, and finally the Choral Fantasy, conducted by Beethoven. It was in a church with no heat, no electric light, and it lasted for four hours. What I would give to have been there! Would most people want to listen to four hours of music? No cell phones, cold and uncomfortable, no snacks like Superbowl Sunday, only what must arguably have been one of the greatest musical experiences of all time. When did our attention spans become so short? When did our love of beauty fail us? I listen to music at every opportunity, and feel blessed by my radio, by the internet, and miss the access we largely no longer have to live performances. I am not sure that most people do. The only time I don’t want music is when I am outside, feeling the sun and the wind, looking at the moon, listening to the trees, the water, the birds and just experiencing the world on a walk, a hike, or a swim. Even then, I see people pass me by with ear buds, a phone, because they apparently need a beat to run to instead of being fully present in their activity. Four hours of Beethoven himself… I would give up an awful lot to be able to hear that.

Karine Stone