“Beethoven is the truth.” This is how categorical Norman Lebrecht (London, 1948), one of the most important and respected music critics, is, who in his latest book asks ‘Why Beethoven?’ (Music Alliance), a question that attempts to answer through an analysis of one hundred of the German composer’s works. «There are several answers – says Lebrecht, who fifteen years ago published a similar book on Gustav Mahler –: when Beethoven burst into Vienna in 1792 he was hailed as a genius, as a new Mozart. But he had his own personality and did not want to be compared to Mozart; If they did it, it was because they did not understand him. With this book, he adds, he wanted to think about the questions we have not asked ourselves about Beethoven, such as whether he ever fell in love. «I can say with 99.9 percent certainty that he did not have sex. He fell in love with women who were unattainable for him to have the emotional experience of love, but not the physical one. Beethoven – the critic continues – “lived an unconventional life, dedicated to developing his own talent and removing from it all the distractions that he found. could prevent us from composing the wonderful pieces that he left us. Lebrecht places the composer on a par with artists like Leonardo da Vinci or William Shakespeare – “it is incredible to think that someone who came from a small town in England could know so many things about the human condition and expressed them in just two lines of dialogue.” -. “He is one of the four or five most important creators in history,” he says, “and it is true that we do not have much information about them, nor about Beethoven. There are small anecdotes or circumstances that allow us to discover it, but there is something much greater that is accessible: his music. Through it you can feel him and even know him.”A world of lies“We live in a world of lies,” adds Norman Lebrecht. In a world where in the United States, by electing Donald Trump again, many people have decided to ignore the truth and vote for what they know is unfair. And in this world where our perception of facts is being manipulated by people like Elon Musk, how do we know what the truth is? We have to claim the truth and know what is the basis of what is real. I can say that what I have in front of me is a table, and someone can contradict me and confuse me. How do we clarify all this? One of the ways is through Beethoven. He had no commitment to anyone, he does not lead us on false paths. It’s the truth. Other musicians are mere entertainment; Mozart is, he wants you to smile, to dance. For Johann Sebastian Bach, music is his job, his livelihood. But Beethoven is the truth, he looked for the truth and if he didn’t find it he went somewhere else to look for it. Lebrecht cites an example. «When Beethoven, 22 years old and without money, arrives in Vienna, he needs a patron. And then an Austrian prince took him to his house and gave him all kinds of facilities to compose and make himself known. But somehow he also told him that he is his owner, that he owns him. Beethoven begins to see all the corruption that exists in the Viennese aristocracy and, when the prince invites him to a castle he has in the countryside, Beethoven refuses to touch what they ask of him. The aristocrat asks him: ‘Do you know who I am?’ And the composer, angry, and after throwing a chair on the floor, responds. ‘Yes, a prince. But there are many princes, but there is only one Beethoven.’ And in him, I insist, is the truth, the most important principles of life, and he reflects it in his music. Norman Lebrecht has wondered if perhaps his vision of Beethoven makes him create an illusion about him. It was a friend of his who reassured him by telling him that Beethoven was like Moses, “the only one who directly receives the word of God.” It has been almost two hundred years since the composer died, Lebrecht continues, «but has there been anyone in this time who has had such an intense relationship with the source of his creation? It’s hard for me to find it…»Open doorsPerhaps the most relevant book by Norman Lebrecht is titled ‘Who Killed Classical Music?’ The question is obligatory: is music dead? «Not dead, but she is in danger. There are three generations that have been taught mathematics, technology… But not music; They have not been taught to draw or write either… They have grown up without being able to recognize their own creativity, and when they become adults they do not have doors to open to relate to music. That’s my job, open them. Then we have the media. When I started working in newspapers there was a distinction between classical music and pop music. Now, hopefully, you find a reference to classical music in the corner of the page. In this uncertain world it is difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false, and music teaches us to find the truth. Isn’t there too much music these days? What happens to the silence? «Silence is also music, without one you cannot understand the other. But it is true that silence does not exist now. If we remain silent we will continue to hear a noise here, another there… I started this book during confinement; then there were no external noises, he wrote sitting in the garden listening to the birds just as Beethoven did. Because birds now have to shout to be heard over cars and other noises. I do not believe that silence exists as such. Standard Related News If Muti climbs Beethoven’s ‘Everest’ at the age of 80 Ángel Gómez Standard sources No Beethoven’s skull returns to Vienna 160 years after his exhumation Rosalía Sánchez«Thirty years ago – concludes Lebrecht -, a musician whom I went to interview in Japan told me that they were going to invent a device so that we could talk on the telephone in the street, and I told him which was ridiculous. But look at us now. Human communication has completely changed; and not only has it changed, but it has surpassed everything imaginable; It is as if she is becoming non-human, non-visible. How are we going to expect certainty from all this? That’s why we need Beethoven; “He is the one who connects us, who helps us see who we really are.”
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