‘Luigi di Beethoven’ and the beloved and reviled Italians
Whenever one might take on the task of interviewing Beethoven, a typical question was this: who, besides yourself, do you consider to be the greatest living composer? Beethoven’s response would almost invariably include the name of Luigi Cherubini, an Italian-born French composer whose operas were well-beloved during his lifetime, and who would serve as the director of the Paris Conservatoire. Cherubini is represented on this program with a piece that ties to Beethoven: Chant sur la Mort de Haydn was written in 1805 in memory of Beethoven’s mentor. Haydn, of course, would live until 1809, and Cherubini hurriedly composed this work after an erroneous newspaper report of Haydn’s demise. Mortified, Cherubini quickly withdrew the work from his catalogue.
If Beethoven was predictable in his admiration of Cherubini, an older, well-established, and safe choice, his opinions on the music of Rossini were far more mixed. Rossini’s fleet operas caused a sensation among the Viennese public, but Beethoven was known to have once remarked that Rossini would have been a great composer if “his teacher had spanked enough on the backside.” The overture to Rossini’s La Scala di Seta, which has enjoyed a robust life outside of its associated opera, was composed in the same year as Beethoven’s beloved, operatic 7th symphony (1812).
Sunday, January 26, 4 p.m.
Zarah Brock, soprano
Patrick Kilbride, tenor
Nicholas Levy, tenor
The Georgetown Epiphany Festival Chamber Orchestra
Andrew Jonathan Welch, Conductor