64. Bach and Beethoven
from The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Hosted by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Bach: Andante from Italian Concerto, BWV 971 Beethoven: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 First on today’s program is the Andante movement from Bach’s Italian Concerto. Surprisingly, while the piece is called a concerto, it is only played by one instrument: the harpsichord. Bach took the popular Italian concerto style—usually used for instrumental soloists and an orchestra—and transcribed it for harpsichord. Here, however, the piece is not performed by a keyboard player at all, but a harpist. Our second piece is Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet in A minor. The second of Beethoven’s famous late quartets, it is particularly well-known for its third movement, the “Heiliger Dankgesang,” which Beethoven composed just after recovering from a serious illness. The quartet as a whole is alternately fiery and charming—almost schizophrenic in its quick changes of tonality and temperament. But the “Heiliger Dankgesang” is of another character entirely: simple and austere, with incredible harmonies emerging as the instruments slowly move in unison.
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