What are you listening to now?

[AeolianHarp]

It's interesting to realise that Beethoven probably wore spectacles quite often but no contemporary portrait shows that fact.

That interests me too. I think his spectacles look kind of sweet- I bet he looked kind of cute in a cerebral way in them. The frame colour matched his hair lol.

Love the title of that one. Didn't Beethoven wear spectacles early on and then later on in life for some reason didn't need them all that often?

I've read that his distance sight improved as he got older so he didn't need them as much. He had some kind of eye problem in his later years that kept him indoors. He wrote about it in his letters. He didn't say exactly what the problem was, but it seemed bright sunlight was uncomfortable as was doing a lot of reading. Here is an interesting link:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...lasses&f=false

I don't know if Beethoven was wearing spectacles later on in life. I know my own long range vision has improved in my sixties - my optician tells me that's quite common.

Errr yeahhhhh...I am short sighted and need specs for distance, otherwise it's a bit of a blur (actually I am mainly a contact lens wearer, but need to get down to Asda for my eye test and NHS voucher to get some more). Now, I am also growing long sighted and have to lift my specs up and hold a book away a bit to read small print. Previously I could read very tiny print. The optician said I will need bifocals in the next few years. He also said my short sight would lessen, and already has slightly apparently- not noticeable in the slightest to me though.

A link on the Eyeglass Duo:

http://www.viola-in-music.com/eyeglasses-duo.html

Don't think I have heard this one myself yet..

[Peter]

Bach cantatas - a treasure trove of great music!

[AeolianHarp]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlFAmc8Mhrc[/YOUTUBE]

Wouldn't you just love to see Beethoven and Baron Zmeskall playing this wearing their spectacles!

[Joy]

Hello Joy! Great to hear from you again.
I don't know if Beethoven was wearing spectacles later on in life. I know my own long range vision has improved in my sixties - my optician tells me that's quite common.
There is a drawing of Beethoven wearing glasses in my copy of the 1970 Oxford Companion to Music. Of course, it's an imaginative sketch but I always found it very striking.
If this link works, you might see it:

http://www.wiw.pl/biblioteka/muzyka_cook/pict/04-z.jpg

Hello back to you Michael! Good to hear you as well! Same thing happened to me as well with my eyesight later in life so it must be quite common as you say. Thank you for the drawing. That was interesting and striking as you say and I enjoyed it. This was written around 1796 so Beethoven would have been rather young at that time wearing his spectacles. Here's a little something I found on it "The reference in Beethoven's title to 'obligato eyeglasses' is explained in a letter by the young composer to a friend, apparently because both would need to wear their glasses in order to read through his newly-composed duet!" He must have been pretty literal! Thanks again!

[Michael]

Wouldn't you just love to see Beethoven and Baron Zmeskall playing this wearing their spectacles!

Probably made a spectacle of themselves. I don't think Beethoven was as good on the viola as the piano. Although he did play the viola in two orchestras in his Bonn days.





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[AeolianHarp]

Probably made a spectacle of themselves. I don't think Beethoven was as good on the viola as the piano. Although he did play the viola in two orchestras in his Bonn days.

Cheek....Baron Zmeskall was a good cellist, and Beethoven good on viola- one has to be good to play in an orchestra!
I bet they were a joy to watch and listen to! Though of course, Beethoven's forte was the pianoforte.

[AeolianHarp]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W49rRgW5V4[/YOUTUBE]

[Michael]

Cheek....Baron Zmeskall was a good cellist, and Beethoven good on viola- one has to be good to play in an orchestra!
I bet they were a joy to watch and listen to! Though of course, Beethoven's forte was the pianoforte.

Sorry! Didn't mean to insult your idol. (He's mine too, for the past 47 years! )
But he is quoted as saying once that his string playing frightened off spiders. Maybe he was referring to the violin and maybe the reference came from Schindler who has a List of inaccuracies.

[AeolianHarp]

Sorry! Didn't mean to insult your idol. (He's mine too, for the past 47 years! )
But he is quoted as saying once that his string playing frightened off spiders. Maybe he was referring to the violin and maybe the reference came from Schindler who has a List of inaccuracies.

You didn't- I was amused by the pun- hence my pun in return. Made me laugh actually. I know Beethoven used to say he couldn't play viola and violin well, but we know that his not well is only in comparison to his sheer brilliant virtuosity on piano.

The spider story that I read was that he was playing violin and a spider came down its thread off the ceiling and landed on him. Someone asked him if it was true, and he laughed and said he couldn't play the violin!

[Michael]

[QUOTE=AeolianHarp;68215]You didn't- I was amused by the pun- hence my pun in return./QUOTE]

I think you made two puns.

"I bet they were a joy to watch and listen to! Though of course, Beethoven's forte was the pianoforte."

You were referring to a reply I made to Joy and the other pun was about the pianoforte.

Were they both intentional?





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[AeolianHarp]

[QUOTE=Michael;68216]

You didn't- I was amused by the pun- hence my pun in return./QUOTE]

I think you made two puns.

"I bet they were a joy to watch and listen to! Though of course, Beethoven's forte was the pianoforte."

You were referring to a reply I made to Joy and the other pun was about the pianoforte.

Were they both intentional?

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The piano one was- hadn't noticed the one about Joy!

[Michael]

[QUOTE=AeolianHarp;68217]

The piano one was- hadn't noticed the one about Joy!

Well, you should have. Because Beethoven dedicated the last movement of his Ninth Symphony to her - and it's all owed to Joy.

(We'd better stop the puns and get back on track or we'll derail this thread. Today I was listening to the String Trio, Opus 9 No. 2 by Guess Who?)





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[Sorrano]

[QUOTE=Michael;68218]

Well, you should have. Because Beethoven dedicated the last movement of his Ninth Symphony to her - and it's all owed to Joy.

(We'd better stop the puns and get back on track or we'll derail this thread. Today I was listening to the String Trio, Opus 9 No. 2 by Guess Who?)





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I thought Who was on first.

[Michael]

I thought Who was on first.

What's on second?

[AeolianHarp]

Beethoven on harp guitar

What's on second?

You have both lost me there.

Have a listen to this!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_YFRZZpK6g[/YOUTUBE]