Show Notes
My guest today is Professor Mark Ferraguto, he is an Associate Professor of Musicology at Penn State University. He will talk to us about his very interesting book "Beethoven 1806", which was published by Oxford University Press in 2019. 0:30 Can you describe your musical background? 1:36 What were the things that bothered you about the way Beethoven was discussed? 3:08 Was Beethoven himself to blame for this because of the way he marketed himself? 4:27 The bust of Beethoven in a Liszt painting 4:53 Beethoven anecdote arguing with a violinist 5:36 How did you come to choosing 1806 for research? 6:20 What are the 3 periods of Beethoven? 7:16 How do these non-heroic works of 1806 appear in his middle period? 8:34 Career-wise, how was Beethoven doing in 1806 9:37 What was Beethoven's music education? 11:22 Was Beethoven a child prodigy? 12:16 Could Beethoven play the complete Bach Well Tempered Clavier as a child? 12:55 Was Beethoven aware of the growing culture of Romanticism around him? 14:05 Leonore Overture 15:13 Was Opera not really his thing? 15:47 How did Luigi Cherubini affect Fidelio and Beethoven? 16:50 Did Beethoven have good things to say about his contemporaries and what did he think of Cherubini? 18:00 Is there an Italian connection with Beethoven? 19:03 The 4th Piano Concerto and Violin Concerto and the terminology of the term "Virtuoso" 20:46 What are these new sources that might be of interest to Beethoven scholars? 22:17 How did the French Érard Piano affect the composition of the 4th piano concerto? 23:55 Is the Violin concerto a virtuoso piece? 25:11 What are the distinctive musical features of the 4th piano concerto? 27:25 Did the public want the virtuosity or something else? 29:13 Was Beethoven making fun of Russians with his Razumovsky String Quartets? 30:27 Were the criticisms of the string quartets modern or contemporary? 32:53 What does the learned style or approach mean and what is it contrasted with? 34:25 Were the terms stile antico used in the 18th century? 35:27 How famous was Joseph Haydn in 1806? 36:48 Is the 4th symphony a regression as compared to the 3rd symphony? 37:39 How did the French Érard piano lead to the composition of the 32 variations in C minor? 40:34 Is there an evolution in piano writing in these variations compared to his previous variations? 42:19 The Coriolan overture as a return to the Heroic 44:20 What's the significance of the playwright and the Corialan overture? 45:25 What do you mean by the term Everyday Beethoven? 46:26 What were the most surprising things about your research? 47:38 How has Beethoven research changed over the last couple of decades? 49:17 Was Beethoven actually not deaf? 51:19 Can you recommend any sections from Beethoven's music that people should listen to? 54:19 Wrapping Up
More from HMA Podcast
Counterpoint is the "huge topic" that crowns the Neapolitan method and the Paris Conservatoire tradition—and yet it's often taught today in ways that leave students confused, discouraged, and musically disconnected. In this Counterpoint Panel, I'm joined by: • Robert O. Gjerdingen (Author of "Music in the Galant Style", "Child Composers") • Peter van Tour (Author of "Counterpoint and Partimento") • Job IJzerman (Author of "Harmony, Counterpoint, Partimento") We talk about how counterpoint was introduced to each of them, why modern harmony courses often set students up for failure, and why "rules on paper" don't work without singing, playing, and real stylistic vocabulary. We also tackle: • Why counterpoint matters (and what it actually trains) • The truth about Fux and why the "species-only" pipeline so often collapses • Why asking students to "write like Bach" can be a disaster—and what to use instead • Whether everyone needs to write a fugue • What "written counterpoint" training should look like when students already have practical skills • Counterpoint's future: horizontality, melody-making, and creative freedom • If you teach, study, or care about the old training paths (solfeggio → partimento → counterpoint), this episode completes the trilogy. Subscribe for more interviews & deep dives into partimento, improvisation, historical pedagogy, and musicianship.
Today I speak to cellist and viola da gamba player Giovanna Barbati, whose repertoire extends from early to contemporary music and who has a special interest in improvisation. She appears frequently as a soloist, she plays her own music and has given the first performance of a number of works for solo cello. She has recently recorded the complete works for cello by Francesco Supriani (Da Vinci CD) with the ensemble Les amies Partimentistes. We discuss improvisation upon a ground, Francesco Supriani's diminution technique works, partimento and the cello, music theory/composition, and more!
Professor Sietze de Vries, famed for his mastery in classical improvisation, joins the show to talk about his education, training, approach to music, music education, and demonstrates classical improvisation in multiple styles, and time periods.
Professor Nicholas Baragwanath, author of the groundbreaking "Solfeggio Tradition" (published by Oxford University Press), returns to the show to talk about Hexachordal Italian Solfeggio. This was the method of solfege instruction that was employed at the famed 18th-century Neapolitan Conservatories, using 6-note overlapping hexachords, instead of the usual 7-note systems we use today. Professor Baragwanath answers popular questions and demonstrates solfeggio in numerous settings, from beginner lessons to more advanced examples.
Professor Ewald Demeyere returns on the show to discuss his critical edition of Fenaroli's partimenti collection and discusses Fenaroli's approach to pedagogy and partimento realization.