Would Beethoven have loved Van Gogh...

[Chaszz]

It is a very interesting debate Preston - For you Van Gogh's paintings evoke similar feelings and responses as the music of Beethoven and this is perfectly legitimate. However that is a very personal interpretation and we cannot say categorically that the music of Beethoven goes with the art of Van Gogh - it is all in the eye of the beholder and the ear of the listener. Looking at the two examples you provided I actually find the David more evocative of Beethoven - the revolutionary Marat portrayed as hero suggests the Eroica!

For me, late Romantic music evokes landscape - Brahms, Wagner, Dvorak, Sibelius, etc. seem to paint musical pictures of meadows, forests, mountains, streams and sunlight. My neighbor, who has far more expereince than I in listening to great music, says she hears no such thing.

[Peter]

For me, late Romantic music evokes landscape - Brahms, Wagner, Dvorak, Sibelius, etc. seem to paint musical pictures of meadows, forests, mountains, streams and sunlight. My neighbor, who has far more expereince than I in listening to great music, says she hears no such thing.

Yes I think this is true, certainly Sibelius conjures up an austere granite landscape to my mind and Wagner definitely forests and mountains. I also get a seasonal response - much of Brahms is autumnal to me and a work such as his 3rd symphony seems perfect for a bright October day with the leaves turning. I think Beethoven's Pastoral symphony has to be set in August!