Let’s Talk About Art

Max Russell

Written by Ludwig Van Beethoven in 1811, Symphony No. 7, 2^nd Movement, “Allegretto” is a piece of music that is not nearly as popular today as much of our modern music is, but classical pieces such as this will for thousands of years remain some of the greatest achievements of mankind. Beethoven considered his seventh symphony as one of his greatest works, and any listener can understand why.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. From an early age, he displayed a talent for musical arts. He moved to Vienna, Austria at the age of 21, and quickly became one of the most popular, and well-known composers of the time. An injury in his early twenties caused his hearing to deteriorate, and by the age of 40 he was almost completely deaf. Regardless of his hearing disability, many of Beethoven’s most admired compositions were written in the last 15 years of his life. Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony was written in 1811 while he was in Telpitz, Bohemia. Astonishingly, Beethoven was almost completely deaf when he composed his seventh symphony. The second movement of this symphony is by far the most popular, and it lasts as one of the most beautiful compositions of mankind.

I first encountered Beethoven’s “Allegretto” when I was in seventh-grade concert band. I played the tuba while in middle school, and this specific piece remains as one of my favorite classical compositions. For the realm of this project, I am specifically studying the audio-visual score of the piece, which combines a stunning visual, paired with the beautiful music of Beethoven. One of the first things I noticed was how the entire piece is slowly increasing in strength and volume until its climax, then the strength and volume slowly decrease. The overall melody and harmony of the piece repeats itself over and over, yet it never gets boring. Since I played tuba, my part consisted of the lower notes and bass harmony. It is amazing to me how Beethoven was able to compose this piece while completely deaf, especially after seeing the visual score and how complex the piece really is.

I had the chance to interview a classmate of mine, Devon Jackson. He gave me some new insight as to how the audio-visual score reaches people differently than music alone.

Russell: What was your first reaction to this piece?

Jackson: My first reaction to this piece was how it gives you a new perspective on listening to classical music, because you get to see the notes build as the song progresses, and its definitely a different way of looking at classical music.

Russell: So you are referring specifically to how the visual aspect of the notes and seeing them highlight as they’re played gives you a new perspective on how complex the piece is?

Jackson: Yes, it allows you to see every instrument as its own individual and you can see how it builds as the song progresses.

Russell: So, this specific piece was composed by Beethoven when he was nearly completely deaf, so he never actually got to hear this piece in its entirety. Does that conjure any idea of a different perspective on this piece? What does that make you think?

Jackson: I guess that at this point in Beethoven’s music career, this s his seventh symphony and he has made countless different musical pieces, but I think that he knew the sound of each note, and he knew how the piece would come out. I think that just because he was such a great musician, he was able to make this without actually hearing anything.

Russell: You mentioned that this gives you a different perspective on classical music, and specifically the visual piece. Do you think that this would be an interesting way to experience other classical music?

Jackson: I think that looking at the piece for the first time is pretty cool, and maybe checking out others as well, but I just don’t see people listening to more classical music just because of the visual part to it. I would compare it to a music video, and how our latest music today has visual aspects as well.

After experiencing “Allegretto” again, I have thought about how the piece has transcended over 200 years, and still remains as popular as it is. Having another person’s perspective on the piece allowed me to think deeper on the correlation between the visual and the music itself. I think that the visual assists in seeing just how amazing the piece is, and really allows the listener to understand how much of a musical genius Beethoven was.