Omaha daily bee., 1920-12-12
By HENRIETTA M. REES.

r EFT the music loving persons
iwho wishes to celebrate quietly
and unobtrusively the l50th an
niversary of the birth of Beethoven
next Thursday drop into the public
library reference room and read the
fascinating story of his life and
music in Groves Dictionary.
In the new edition OF the die
tionary il is some sixty odd pages
long, but it is so we'll written and
the chronicle Of such an interesting.
even though tempestuous life. that
il cannot but hold the sincere stu
dent who knows and admires the
work Of this great musical genius.
We wrote briefly a week or so
ago something of the important
things he did for music, and of the
variety and beauty OF the subject
matter he developed, and Of the per-
n,anencc of his masterpieces. The
same restless spirit which kept his
friends in hot water was the spirit
which kept him working; his up-
compromising standard Of perfec-
ton in his work was reflected III his
uncompromising attitude toward his
friendships, and the characteristics
which won him the nickname of the
"Great Mogul" from Haydn were
the same which made him convinced
that his work, once Completed to his
pwn satisfaction, should not be
changed
While Beethoven was not espe-
cially popular with the professional
musicians Of Vienna. he was ex-
tremely popular with the aristoc-
racy--the only unprofessional. musi-
cal society-who put up with his &C.
ccntricities and caprices and in
every way befrieHded him. 6rove
says "That Beethoven should have
been so much treasured by the aris-
toczacy of Vienna notwithstanding
his personal drawbacks. and not
withstanding the gap which separ-
ated the noble man from the ro-
turier shows what an immense
! power there must have been in his
genius, and in the absolute SIM
plicity of his mind, to overcome the
abruptness OF his manners. II we
are to believe the anecdotes of his
contemporaries, his sensitiveness
was extreme, his temper ungovern-
able, and his mode of expression
quite unjustiiiable. And yet no out
bursts of any kind seem to have
made any breach in the regard with
which he was treated by the nobil-
ity. Certainly Beethoven was the
first musician who had even ven
tured upon such independence. and
there was possibly something
piquant in the mere novelty: but
the real secret of his lasting influ-
ence must have been the charm Of
his personality--his entire sim
plicity, joined to his prodiaious
genius. This charm even counter
balanced his horribly bad manners.
And he enjoyed good society. 1T
is good said he. to be With the
aristocracy, but one must be able
to impress them.
- -
In speaking of his music, the pro.
gram of the concert of December
p. 1908, is cited, at which the
Pastoral Symphony" was produced,
when he prefixed the following
words to the description of the sym
phony, more expression of emotion
than portraiture." "a canon, con-
tinues the article, (which should
surely be taken as the guide in in
terpreting all similar works of his"
After giving the main external
characteristics of Beethoven's music
the following is quoted: while
listening" says Mr.. Dannreuther, ito
such works as the overture to
'Leonora,' the 'Sinfonia Eroica, or
the Ninth Symphony we feel that
we are in the presence of something
far wider and higher than the mere
development of musical themes. The
execution in detail of each move
ment and each succeeding work is
modified mere and more by the pre-
vailing poetic sentiment. A religious
passion and elevation are present in
the uterances. The mental horizon
of the music grows upon us with
each renewed hearing. The differ.
cnt movements-like the different
particles of each movement-have
as close a connection with one an
other as the acts of tragedy, and a
characteristic significance to be un-
derstood only in relation to the
whole; each work is in the full sense
of the word revelation. Beethoven
speaks language no one has spoken
before, and treats of things no one
has dreamt before; yet it seems as
though he were speaking of matters
long familiar in ones mother tongue;
as though he touched upon emotions
one had lived through in some form
er existence. The warmth and depth |
of his ethical sentiment is now felt
Ill The ,,orIJ o,,n~ o.J - ..,:ff -.