Leif Segerstam’s cycle of Beethoven choral works continues with some of his earliest compositions. In 1790, the nineteen-year-old Beethoven was a court musician in Bonn. He was commissioned to write two cantatas. Basically, it was “the king is dead, long live the king.” The first cantata was to mourn the death of the recently deceased […]
Niklas Spångberg
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Leif Segerstam begins Beethoven choral series
Ludwig van Beethoven’s oratorio was premiered at a marathon concert in 1803. And I mean marathon. The all-Beethoven program (conducted by the composer) included his first and second symphonies, plus his third piano concerto. Some of the shorter pieces scheduled were dropped due to time constraints (!). “Christ on the Mount of Olives” originally received […]
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Early Beethoven cantatas hint at greatness
The Emporer is dead, long live the Emporer. In 1790 a nineteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas. The first was an elegy for Emperor Joseph II. The second for Leopold II, who inherited the throne. Maestro Leif Segerstam presents both works. It continues Naxos’s series of Beethoven choral works. Apparently, the […]