On this episode we feature the works of Jean Sibelius & Ludwig van Beethoven… musical titans from different centuries, but both known by their groundbreakingly original and powerful music. AND both sharing December birthdays. Featuring performances from the Heifetz stage of some of the landmark compositions from the two composers.
This Episode’s Playlist
Jean Sibelius:
Romance, Op. 78 No. 2
Berceuse, Op. 79 No. 6
Shmuel Ashkenasi, violin
Dina Vainshtain, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.13.2018
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 “Ghost”
I. Allegro vivace e con brio
Yezu Woo, violin
Coleman Itzkoff, cello
Anton Smirnoff, piano
Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC
Heifetz Institute Recording | 03.17.2016
Sibelius: WaItzes, Op. 81 No. 3 [excerpt]
Shmuel Ashkenasi, violin
Dina Vainshtain, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.13.2018
Sibelius: String Quartet “Voces Intimae,” Op. 56:
III. Adagio di molto
Clara Kim, violin
Elinor Detmer, violin
John Czekanski, viola
Miles Levine, cello
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 08.06,2022
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat, Op. 130
V. Cavatina: Allegro Molto Espressivo
Ji-Won Song, violin
Heewon Koo, violin
Tabea Haarmann-Thiemann, viola
Christine J. Lee, cello
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 08.03.2016
06:10 + app.
Sibelius: String Quartet “Voces Intimae,” Op. 56:
V. Allegro ma pesante
Clara Kim, violin
Elinor Detmer, violin
John Czekanski, viola
Miles Levine, cello
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 08.06.2022
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2
I. Allegro con brio [excerpt]
Kevin Mills, cello
Rita Rovanskaya, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 08.02.2015
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
I. Allegro moderato
Zachary Brandon, violin
Beilin Han, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 06.28,2022
Go Deeper
Explore The Beethoven Experience, a landmark 11-episode video series presented and performed by the Borromeo String Quartet, the Institute’s Ensemble in Residence. The presentation is both a concert and educational experience, with insights and research shared by Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen, to along with truly breathtaking interpretations by the Borromeo Quartet.
“The Finn with the French name…” Explore 15 Facts about Jean Sibelius, put together by our friends at Classic FM. Sibelius is such a national hero in Finland that his image is even on national currency!
The “Cavatina” movement from Beethoven’s Op. 130 String Quartet heard on this episode is included in NASA’s Golden Record, sometimes called “Earth’s Greatest Hits,” hurtling through the cosmos aboard Voyager I. The Cavatina is a deeply-felt hymn. Beethoven himself wrote that writing this movement “cost him tears” – to the extent that some even claim that Beethoven’s dripping tears even stained the original manuscript.