Philadelphia has a long association with classical music, from the Curtis Institute of Music to The Philadelphia Orchestra with former directors Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, and so on. Beethoven has long been a favorite in our city.
For Labor Day weekend our local classical music radio station was conducting its annual Labor Day Weekend Countdown with listeners voting on their top 30 favorites.
As I was traveling around town running errands, they were playing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. I was in and out of the car every few minutes doing my shopping, and every time I hopped back in the car, Beethoven was there to greet me.
Your #DolceVita action item for this week: Listen to an hour of Beethoven.
May I suggest his late piano sonatas? Ludwig Van can be soothing, exciting, contemplative, tumultuous, emotional, witty, and beautiful.
Let me know which of his many works you choose. Use hashtag #DolceVita so I’m sure to see it.
Two favorites of mine are the 5th Symphony and Moonligh Sonata. Anytime I am feeling really down in the dumps it totally helps get my mind right!
Ah, the Moonlight Sonata, possibly one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.
I’m not too knowledgeable about classical music, so I’ll have to take Tosha’s suggestions to start with. Do you have any other suggestions? Can you name them?
I’m not hugely knowledgable about classic music but I took a Beethoven class in college so I’m most familiar with him. My favorites are Symphony No. 3 Eroica, the Moonlight and Pathetique sonatas, Fur Elise, and the late piano sonatas. I also have a CD called “Beethoven for Book Lovers” which is a nice selection.