Beethoven

Beethoven and the Hero's Journey
Wednesdays in December, 2015
The Petaluma Historical Museum, 20 Fourth Street (corner of Fourth and B Street)

​No other musical life represents so fully the archetype of The Hero than Ludwig van Beethoven, the small and abused little boy from Bonn whose courage and creativity in response to life’s ordeals changed the world forever. Using Joseph Campbell’s map of the Hero’s Journey, we’ll trace Beethoven’s life from its brutal beginnings through his legendary meetings with Mozart and his dutiful apprenticeship with Haydn, the defiant confrontation with deafness and despair that gave birth to a whole new style of composition, and finally,  the monumental achievements of healing, hope and synthesis Beethoven  created in late works like the Piano Sonata Op. 109, the Ninth Symphony , and the last string quartets he penned as he faced his own death.
 
December 2, 10:30-Noon: The Ignoble Beginnings of the Wayward Student
Featured work: Piano Trio, Op. 1 No. 3 in c minor

December 2, 1:00-2:30: The Call to Adventure and Mozart's Torch
Featured Works: Piano Sonata Op. 2 No.1 in f minor, "Pathetique" Sonata Op. 13 in c minor

December 9, 10:30-Noon: The Road of Trials Through Love, Rage and Moonlight
Featured Works: Sonata Op. 78 in F# Major, "Rage Over the Lost Penny", Sonata Op. 27 in c# minor, "Moonlight"

December 9, 1:00-2:30: The Hero Awakens in Piano Concertos and Symphonies
Featured Works: Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 3 and 5; Symphony No. 5

December 16:  Suffering and Transcendence, the Late Works
Feautred Works: Piano Sonata Op. 109 in E Major, String Quartet Op. 130

December 16: Benediction and the Ninth Symphony
Featured Works; The Choral Fantasy for Piano, Orchestra and Chorus, Symphony No. 9 in D Minor