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Wow, what a day. So, this may be boring to my non-musician friends, but it was an interesting afternoon. We basically had 4 and a half hours of “lecture” about Beethoven with professors who do research in alliance with the BeethovenHaus. (One of them was also instrumental in putting together the critical edition we are using for the seminar – the Henle published “Armin Raab” aditiion. He was Armin Raab… go figure!)

So, we had a lot of interesting discussions about Beethoven markings, interpretation, etc. The one thing that blew me away was seeing the Leonore III overture “autograph manuscript.” (The entire thing was in German, so I’m not 100% sure whether this was the autograph found in Prague or Berlin or whether it was a copy of the original autograph made in Prague… Sorry about that.) But, anyway, there has always been a question for me concerning how to perform the crescendo/diminuendo section with the strings and the bassoons in the introduction. (Somewhere around measure 5.) Well, in the manuscript, it seems logical. The dotted half-notes are actually placed BELOW the bassoon notes. It seems 100% obvious that the crescendo/dim should WAIT until the bassoons enter, and the cresc/dim would then take place at the same time. I would never have known that without seeing the actual reprint of the manuscript.

It was an interesting lecture from the perspective that I had to basically take it all in… in German. Ok, so I have studied German, and I reached a modicum of ability while in Austria… BUT… Anyway, I was rather proud of myself for being able to keep up. I asked a question (in English, but it was topical)! Maestro Masur luckily translated the question for me.

The other conductors are interesting. I’m excited to see how the week keeps going. Tomorrow, we actually get to see the BeethovenHaus collection of manuscripts, metronomes and other memorabilia.

I walked around Bonn a bit last night. (Mainly to stave off jet lag). Bonn is a very beautiful city in parts. I walked through the Markt, and it was interesting to hear everyone calling out their wares. (This morning, on the way to the seminar, Maestro Masur said, “Beethoven heard this every day. Can you imagine?” My reply (ever the smartass), “But in Marks, not Euros.” And he said, “In Schillings, not Marks. The prices were lower then.” I was outwitted by Maestro Masur. (Nothing new there!)

This brings me to Maestro Masur. As most people who know me realize (probably to their chagrin), I list Maestro Masur as my primary mentor. (Of course, that isn’t to say that I haven’t had so many great teachers: William Henry Curry, Mike Votta, Tonu Kalam, Marin Alsop, Leonard Slatkin, Gary Lewis, etc.) I find Maestro Masur’s passion for music utterly inspiring. He believes that music changes the world. He discusses the inner turmoil/joy/philosophy in relation to composers and their works. It forces you to think of every work as more than the notes and rhythms on the page. Why was each sforzato written? Why a fortepiano? It truly makes you think of things greater than yourself. And to make a short story longer, it was incredible to see him after so many months.