Every time I play Beethoven, I feel transported. For my orchestra’s opening concert of the season, I had the good fortune to play Beethoven’s 6th symphony, the “Pastoral.” Few pieces, or composers, have the ability to put me right in the action with the same intensity and immediacy as Beethoven. From the opening phrase in the violin section I was in the moment. For 40ish blissful minutes, nothing else existed except for music.
Playing the first movement, I imagined myself traipsing through a forest on a warmish, spring day. Throughout, the five movements of the symphony, I could feel my parts synching with everyone else’s. Beethoven can be tricky because we don’t all enter at the same time, but if you stick to your part, it sounds right in the end. Somehow everything comes together. I recall a feeling of unity in the second movement when the clarinet and I matched our parts to sound like one voice lifting with the melody.
But maybe my favorite movement of the whole piece is number 4, the storm. It feels urgent and intense. When I play it I have the sensation that I’m going to bounce out of my seat from the energy. Finally, Beethoven brings it all together in the fifth movement, the calm after the storm. The clarinet opens followed by the French horn. The mellow hum of the horn feels like a ray of sunshine peeping through the clouds, warming my back. This might also be because the French horns play behind me.
At the end of the horn’s opening phrase, the orchestra comes in with the main theme. I especially like this part because each time the main theme repeats throughout the movement, I play an “A”. It’s not a particularly special note on the bassoon, but if feels gratifying to hold it at this particular moment in the piece.
I find it extraordinary to feel fully immersed in a non-digital experience these days. With so many unnatural beeps, chirps, squeaks, rings, and other notifications, it’s rare to enjoy something fully powered by humans. And it feels even better when you’re right in the center of it, sharing it with others.
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