actually, he composed this piece only partially deaf (he could only faintly hear high pitches, but could hear the rest). His 9th symphony was composed while he was completely deaf.
@@LachlanTyrrell2003 That's disputed. There are primary sources that claim his hearing lasted much longer than others, and it is complicated by how much he tried to hide his hearing loss.
Imagine: no electricity, no cars, no internet, no telephone and you get dressed up, walk to a theater and this magnificence fills the room. The cool part is that we can still experience it!!
@@abrahampalmer1153 And you get completely hammered in a cellar bar afterwards and start a fight over Haydn and upset a table and my God a night out on the cobbles completely epic!
Dear Mr. JBLethal....let me tell you what I love BEST....your genuine willingness and desire to expand your horizons! Wow!! As a recently retired jr. high/high school public teacher - YOU, young man, are truly what I call “A Life-Long Learner”...a student of life 😎 And THAT is THE coolest thing on the planet!! If I may - I’m so stinkin’ proud of ya! Never, EVER, stop learning please. AND....thanks for sharing all of your videos and exposing ME to never-before-listened-to styles of music. Your time, energy & input is deeply appreciated - keep ‘em coming, please❣️
Kelly Ford, I totally agree with you. I stumbled across his reactions a couple of weeks ago, and I'm hooked. I'm glad to see that other people think the same things I do watching his reactions.
My parents are band directors - and I've been in their groups. Occasionally, they've asked me (in later years) to teach a small group, and I now know how hard it is to get teenagers to engage with great music. I so wish there was somebody like the guy who runs this channel in one of these sessions. My last name means I'm never going to be a master of something, but I, by definition, am a constant learner. I'm so happy to see your enthusiasm for this young man and his desire to appreciate more music. I'm inspired by him!
One night Beethoven was having dinner at Prince Lichnowskys palace and the prince wanted ludwig to play for him he said no and he kept asking him over and over to the point that Beethoven violently got up from his chair and said to him "Prince, what you are, you are through chance and birth; what I am, I am through my own labor. There are many princes and there will continue to be thousands more, but there is only one Beethoven."
That rapid 4 "chord" jump starr beginning was shockingly revolutionary for its time...and the teasing, stop, start ending predated the rock cliché by 150 years or so.
@Johann Sebastian Yeah! There's some wonderful little comic strips by Kate Beaton revolving around Lisztomania. They're pretty funny. Just search for Kate Beaton Chopin Liszt. :)
They didn't laugh. He was deaf by the time he debuted this work. The audience clapped and he couldn't hear them, he was facing the orchestra and kept going.
There's a reason why Classical (and Baroque and Romantic) music from the masters has survived hundreds of years. Because it's the truth. Transcending languages and cultures, it can never die.
In this day and age damn near all information is stored, so the chances of "modern" music being heard hundreds of years down the road is likely. Then again when that happens all meaning (if any to begin with) would be lost and the music would just seem like random noise. It only takes 25 years from their first album an artist/band to be eligible for the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Just think, as of right now, 1993 bands that came out that year or earlier can be "forever" memorialized.
@@meltedplasticarmyguy I wouldn't be so confidant of that. Computer media from the 70's and early 80's is already becoming irretrievable. Formats change, media changes... Floppy drives are long gone (with a few exceptions).. The first hard drive I ever owned is totally unreadable by any modern machines.. All of the data on it is lost forever.. Not because it failed, but because the system is was designed for is nearly 40 years old.. There are precious few remaining Apple //e computers out there that are still operable.
@@meltedplasticarmyguy The point is not that archival availability of the material but its relevance to Man through the centuries. Popular music of a hundred years ago (20's 30's) is pretty much completely forgotten. 40's and 50's remain because people of that generation still live. 300 years from now, Beethoven and Mozart will be famous, no one outside of historians will know or like the Beatles.
When "Symphony of Fate" was first performed in Vienna in 1808, it was described as one of the most important works of its time. Nowadays it's widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music. Beethoven got inspiration to write the piece from a dream where Death came knocking at his door. Later he described the first notes to his friend saying "this is how fate knocks at the door".
You felt it and said it correctly. This is the "German Geist" (spirit)! Yes, free spirit, no wars & all people should come together because we are a great family. This is was this classicals mean & some people feel it (but not all). Greetings from Austria & wish you the very best! ❤
Beethoven was the rockstar of his generation. He was so controversial people didn’t understand his music when they first heard it. Can you imagine hearing this on surroundsound
You MUST listen to Beethoven's ninth symphony. I will never forget the first time I ever heard it. I was eight years old ( I am now fifty-five), and it brought up feelings and emotions I had never felt before. I cried from beginning to end. Beautiful doesn't begin to describe it. Powerful, moving, joyful, ecstatic, heartbreaking...none of these words is strong enough. I felt like I had seen the face of God, and to this day I have that same feeling every time I listen to Beethoven's ninth symphony.
@Clarka Kento The fourth movement is the one I heard at age eight, the one that brought me such ecstasy. But, sublime as it is, the Ninth is not Beethoven's highest achievement. IMO, that award goes to the Missa Solemnis, which is what I feel the music of Heaven will sound like, once we are there to hear it.
Oh, what a dramatic life story for this man. Wow. Beethoven is, well, rightly considered one of the brightest burning stars in the heavens. The first movement of the Fifth Symphony is very popular, very exciting and there was nothing like it at the time. It feels like a man's struggle to be something in life, filled with triumphs and with losses, but ends defiantly like "I know I did the best I could, I am right with my soul." Beethoven's style was really an innovation - like, the new stuff that everybody rejected at first. My favorite piece is actually the next movement of this symphony (most symphonies have four movements or sections, but there is a thread that runs through them all). The second movement is usually quite different a mood from the first movement of a symphony. The second movement of Beethoven's FIfth Symphony is very elegant and stately, but also very emotional....there are places during the eight minutes or so that I KNOW you will choke up, you will feel emotional pain, you will feel emotional joy...and it will all come over you and feel like you have no control of it. To me, the second movement sounds like Beethoven SHOWING us his soul. If you're feeling a little blue or a little bit of longing for someone, give it a listen and it will release all that emotion by the time it's done. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EQIVWhKhwPA.html
This is the first piece of classical music I remembering hearing as a child. All these many years later, It is still one of my favorite pieces. During my working career, I once spent some time working over time in the middle of the night (before my actual shift). I listened to this piece many times during those hours. It helped keep me going through those long nights. Glad you appreciate it too.
Yes, it's very hard to avoid conducting the whole orchestra, when you are listening to this unbelievable masterpiece of pure genious from a different planet 🤗
When you do Beethoven's 9th, I want to be there with you - like I've done with a couple other converts - with a drink on a comfy couch - we'll do the whole damn thing!
Seriously, if you like this one, then I and a bunch of your friends and followers can find some more like it by Beethoven. But I'm suggesting a more serious thing - the whole symphony - 4 movements, about an hour to listen. If you're digging this, then, I might be on your case to warm you up to the long listen! Glad this one hit you in a great way!
Per our conversation, please let me enter Beethoven's full 9th Symphony. Chicago with Muti conducting ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rOjHhS5MtvA.html
Actually, before you hear the whole thing, you might be better off with a slice (the best one) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t4N5-OALObk.html
I have a suggestion for you outside of your channel reactions. To get the full impact of this type music attend an actual orchestral performance. It's an experience to actually watch the individual musicians play, and the different instrument sections working together to produce sound that really gives you goosebumps (it makes you wish you were a conductor!). Don't know where you live, but any mid-size to big city can provide you with that. It could be anything from a high school orchestra performance to a major city's professional orchestra. Not only would it be more fun than you might expect, it would enhance your enjoyment and reaction to any future classical music you might do. Truly.
And sit in the balcony. I had season tickets for years to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and always sat in the balcony. Once I sat on the main floor (free), and the music did not have the same feel. It was as if it didn't have time to build before it got to me. And the balcony is cheaper. :-) Oh, and you can see all the musicians, not just the front row of violinists and cellists. So much more interesting, especially if you see something with some good percussion.
Oh yes! The music goes right through you. A lot of colleges have concerts for free. Check out their programs. I particularly like performances that feature percussion. Then you really feel it.
I'm so proud of you 😚 Respect Respect Respect for your open mind. The more you learn about diverent sorts of music, how verder you learn about life. . (Excuus my English ).
I always taught my daughter to listen to all kinds of music and enjoy it! I glad to see a young man like you trying all different kinds and enjoying it!
May I suggest some Russians? Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scherezade, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, oh and Holst's Mars the Bringer of War. Ok, Holst wasn't Russian.
oh my god... really? You want to challange Beethoven with Gershwin? That is like trying to compare a stick to the tsar-bomb :) And that stick is quite good music...
"Rhapsody in blue" created quite a stir and was considered somewhat scandalous in some classical music circles because of its ise of jazz elements. It is a stunning piece of work.
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was an incredible and beautiful musical expression of what America was. The hustle and bustle that was in all of its energetic and occasionally profane glory. If you want to know what New York City in the early (and even into the mid) twentieth century - this song is it.
You are to commended for taking the musical journey you’ve begun. You couldn’t have begun any better than with Beethoven and the 1st movement of his Fifth Symphony, considered a masterpiece of music. For a change of pace but still with the same composer, listen to his “Moonlight Sonata”. You won’t be disappointed and also his violin concerto. Just wonderful.
Your joy is sufficient to.make me love this music again. Get all parents to.play this music to their children. The children's mind will just expand in the joy you have
If you listen to The Carmina Burana by Orff (there is more to it than "O Fortuna" btw), try to get the recording with Lucia Popp and Hermann Prey - it's the very best.
Your reactions are priceless ! I find it overwhelming when you consider that ALL this beautiful sounds came from the mind of one man. His music touches your soul as you've found out. Continue to explore and grow.
Classical music is just beautiful! Great to watch your reaction. You should also listen to Vivaldi. Seasons - Thunderstorm, this is just an amazing song!
Yes, you have found a whole pot of gold! And there is more! If there is a Heaven, Beethoven is watching your reaction and enjoying it! Imagine the pleasure he would get from seeing enjoying his music.
I don't know what kind of weather you get where you live but if you check out Beethoven's 6th Symphony (called the Pastoral) 4th movement you will never hear a thunderstorm the same way again.
So happy for you. As far as I'm concerned this is the most beautiful music ever written in human history, and even more so if you consider the other movements (parts) of this piece - because I'm not sure if you know, but this is just the 1st part of the symphony. I think you would love it even more and appreciate it even more if you heard the entire symphony. Not really youtube material due to length (although I guess you could do each one...), but you HAVE to listen to it for yourself because it is amazing and you would love it :) Thank you for your wonderful reactions !
I so relate to your experiences while listening to classical music. I entered college in the autumn of 1953 and Music appreciation was a requirement. Class time was about 2:00 in the afternoon, 3x per week. I'd never heard classical music, being a country boy in KY. As soon as the baton came down I ascended to heaven and have abided there subsequently. It's not an easy choice between Baroque and classical. Each and both are expressions of Truth: Someone in these comments has already said it!
I played this piece in my high school orchestra. It was SO FUN to play!! Towards the end of Beethoven's life, he was completely deaf and still composed some of the most beautiful music!!!!!!!!!!!
When the time comes that you can sit in a symphony hall & listen to an orchestra perform this piece you will be completely blown away observing all of the musicians performing for you - it's that personal of experience.
The best "explanation" I've heard of this movement is that it's fate, or deafness, knocking on the door, and his soul arguing and then finding peace with it.
Dear JBLETHAL, I've been following your reaction video through Queen and Pink Floyd, both are my favorite band for many years. And now I'm so glad to see you react to classic music! Watching you explore and enjoy all the great pieces of music of different genre are pure joy to me. Beethoven's 5th Symphony is definitely the masterpiece of music. But I didn't fully realize how great it is until I listen to the Carlos Kleiber version. His conducting was stunning. Enjoy this great work alone, you will about to cry, to scream out of joy, to shiver from what you hear. All the emotions evoked at the same time.
With all the turmoil going on in our country today and races being pitted against one another, I cannot tell you how Overjoyed I am to see a young articulate black man taking an interest an "old white man" music. Not all things that came from 200 years ago were bad :-) welcome to my childhood and what I grew up with! I hope you always know this feeling of bliss and absolute JOY that THIS music will bring to you, for the rest of your life! Share it with your friends and your children. This is what will unite all of us!❤ and this was just the beginning. There's so much more to hear by so many other composers. Congratulations on your discovery and may you always have an open mind and heart :-) much respect....😎👍🎼🙏🙏... now go get yourself some Tchaikovsky
I’m so happy for you that you’re discovering classical music! To me one of the most beautiful classical pieces ever written is Handel’s Messiah. It’s a very popular piece to be played at Christmas time. I think you’d be very moved by the 44th movement - Chorus: Hallelujah
When the Hallelujah Chorus begins, it is traditional to stand for the entire piece. Legend has it that the first time it was performed, King George II was so moved that he stood up - and if the king stands, everyone stands. So if you ever hear this in a concert hall, you will be in the know when everyone stands up (and a few people look confused as to why everyone is standing). ;)
My brother had a western civ professor who would give an automatic A to anyone who could turn in a handwritten copy of that piece. No one had ever done it, lol. The story is that Handel wrote it over just a few days and said he'd seen the face of God. It is an amazing work.
ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) took Chuck Berry's "Roll over Beethoven" and combined it with this symphony. A very clever and fun mashup, it's worth a listen.
Beethoven has a way of doing this to people. Listen to his 9th Symphony, especially the 4th movement. The Ode to Joy will render you in awe. In my very humble opinion, Beethoven alone is proof of the existence of God. Your reaction is priceless. I suspect it's the reaction Herr Beethoven would have hoped you'd have. You rock JBLETHAL, and now I'm a subscriber.
Yes, he absolutely has to try Moonlight Sonata. Truly sublime. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OsOUcikyGRk.html Luciano Pavarotti - Nessun dorma ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-raJkCwQB2CY.html Les Miserables 2012 "Red and Black Song" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cjp-Gyo5tNM.html
@MrBlethal YES! “MOONLIGHT SONATA “ is the most glorious opus. I fall even more in love with it each time I hear it. The Beatles song, “Because” from The White Album is Moonlight Sonata is in reverse and just a beautiful with their mind-blowing harmonies!
The "dun dun dun duunnnn" resembles the loud knocking on his door. He was going deaf/was hard of hearing and couldn't hear that much anymore. But the music lived on in his head and he kept writing it down no matter what. His head must've been a beautiful place.
I'm so happy to see you exploring classical music! I'd recommend Tchaikovsky's Concerto No 1 (I'm partial to the great M. Argerich's performance). Chopin soothes my soul especially when played by Szpilman (tho Revolutionary Etude is badass so maybe check this one first). Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King is super recognisable. There's actually plenty of classical pieces that you probably heard before!
You are awesome, man. Absolutely love your reactions. And yes, music is the bridge to life. Eloquent. Now do a reaction to his masterpiece, the 9th Symphony. You’ll be blown away even more, running through the wheatfields jumping for joy. Beethoven is the greatest musician of all time, bar none!
This song completely drains me. It pitches you into a sea of every emotion ever conceived of! I could breath this piece in over and over and never get enough.
Samuel Morse, the inventor of the morse code, made the patern for the letter "V" (5 in roman numeral) dot,dot,dot,dash to replicate the notes of of this song. If you check out Beethoven's 9th, "Ode to Joy" make sure you listen to the Wesminster Choir version... it's Glorious!
Well-done to you for exploring such a wide range of music! A point of interest: Beethoven began losing his hearing as a young man, and by the time he wrote most of his most beloved works, he was nearly deaf. He was extraordinary.
This is just the 1st movement. Three more to go. Symphonies have four movements generally. Beethoven's 6th symphony has 5 movements. Berlioz's symphony has 5. Schubert's Unfinished symphony has only 2. Concerti as in piano, flute, violin, harp or clarinet concerto generally have three movements. I find Schubert's Unfinished Symphony to be very lyrical as are Mendelssohn's symphonies. No one puts together a concerto or a symphony like Rachmaninoff though.
Rachmaninoff's piano concerto's are absolutely ridiculous. I've listened to the 2nd one probably 1000's of times and looks i'm going to have to listen to it again tonight.
I love, love, love the way you are expanding your music horizons. ❤❤ Those woodwinds still give me chills... I loved playing this one.❤❤ "I'm free" sums it up very well.
I'm so very happy I've discovered your channel, but I'm happier with the fact you've discovered classical music! It's amazing how pieces I know so well can sound for the first time to fresh ears. Your reactions is what all of this is about. Is why Beethoven kept on composing even though he underwent a slowly but painful hearing loss process since end of his twenties up until his middle fourties when he had to resort to conversations notebooks in order to communicate with others. He went through a lot of crap in his life, unrequitted love, sickness, shitty childhood, deafness and still he sat at his desk every day to compose the music that forms his impressive catalogue. You and those on a similar musical journey like yours are the reason classical music and opera ought to be made readily available to the general audience with no stupid outdated dress etiquette nor overly priced theater tickets. State support to culture can allow this to happen, so that you could go to a classical gig for no more than 20 dollars a ticket (or less), so that you can show up at the local theater and experience an opera live dressing whatever you like and not having to spend your monthly salary in the ticket. It is a reality in many countries (like here in Germany where I live) and it can happen elsewhere if there is the will from the public and private sector to support culture and fairly pay orchestra musicians and singers. I don't want to overwhelm you with hundreds of classical music recommendations because I've seen in the comments you've gotten a fair amount of those already. If you allow me, I would suggest you to search for a live performance for your next video reaction. The live energy of an orchestra is like nothing else. I can recommend you this one: /watch?v=8NOF_ueaxJ4 Also, if you are interested, I can only recommend this very insightful documentary about the journey of an orchestra conductor to fully understand and grasp Beethoven's 3rd symphony: /watch?v=JEMlun-IN4A&t
I love how Happy this music has made you feel. ❤ The joy on your face is palpable. To see and hear a full orchestra is an Amazing experience. I recommend it.
Beethoven was deaf when he wrote this. Amazing Please continue your walk into classical music. As a student of the London Royal School of Music, I can only say keep going.
You should watch the movie Amadeus the film from 1984 it will give you a crash course into Mozart and what a genius he was.Great soundtrack as well of course including Mein Herr Marquis(Laughing song).
Dear Lord, there are millions of Classical music for you to listen to, but take your time. And Beethoven and Schubert are a *perfect start* . For Piece: Bach Jesu, Joy of man desiring Bach, air in g string For joy: Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik For love and yearning : Wagner, Overture Tristan und Isolde. Pardon me if the choices might be too heavy
Thank you so much for sharing this experience with us. It was the last movement of this same symphony that captured me, at the age of 12, and here I am 40+ years later, still playing classical music every day on my violin. Check out his 5th piano concerto if you haven't already. It was composed just a couple years later and has so much of the same spirit.
How about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?...Eddie Van Halen named his son after Mozart-Wolfgang. (Excuse spelling). You are correct...music is color, nationality, religiously blind
I subscribed based on the honesty of this reaction and the open mindedness displayed. i feel sorry for anyone who doesnt listen to all the greats of every genre
@@Kate98755 , that too, depending on which kind you are listening to. I remember reading about a study where they played soft classical music in the background in a prison, and it had a calming effect on the population.
Young man, I really love how open you are to all types of music. I grew up in the 60's,70'. All day, every day great new music. Just fabulous. If you would like to hear something really cool with this symphonic piece included check out Electric light orchestra Roll over Beethoven. You will LOVE IT. FIRE.
Wow, you are REALLY feeling it ❤ love you for that and will definitely subscribe and follow you on your journey... there is so much more out there for you.
You should react to some live performances of classical music, to really get the scope of the music. It's incredible to watch 40-50 people working together to create beauty such as this.
It is so wonderful to see you experiencing this music for the first time. Beethoven truly was a master of his art, and this is one of his most widely known pieces. And I also have to say (as others have too in the comments) that if his 5th got to you this strongly, you simply HAVE to listen to his 9th Symphony too! It's truly one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. Another piece I'd recommend that is also beyond amazing is Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in d minor". Beethoven's music tends to pain pictures in your mind, Bach's, to me anyway, just feels like the purity of music itself. (That piece was originally written for a pipe organ, so if you can find an arrangement that's preformed that way, it might be best. Though, there are some good orchestral versions of it too.) And one more recommendation just to round it out, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. (I am NOT joking, but try to find an arrangement that says something about using real canon fire because I shit you not, it was intended to be preformed with actual canons as part of the percussion section.)
Thank you for being the ONLY reactor I've ever seen who delved into the ocean of classical music. We can't know where we're going if we don't know where we've been. I've always loved Baroque. Pachelbel's Canon in D is one you might actually recognize. I've got a playlist of Baroque music that I go to sleep to. I ride the notes to dreamland. Calms my mind and brings sweet dreams. Give Vivaldi, Bach and others a try. Oh and get this.... a group called Apollo 100 did a modernized rendition of Bach's Ode to Joy, called simply "Joy"... it's a must hear... it's what started me on my journey of musical exploration. Wore out my mom's 45 version of it.
Try "Mars" from the Planets suite by Holst, you'll see where many films got their sound from (Star Wars, Gladiator etc.). It's about the God of war and you can hear the power, terror and sadness, very powerful stuff.
You really have to go and be at a real symphony performance...it will take your breath away! I went to one the celebrated DISNEY and I was with TWO professional musicians and my son. The two musicians LOVED it more than my son! It was truly a beautiful experience....💜💜💜 PS Seasons by Vivaldi is a very popular and wonderful work. You would like it too.🙏💜
When you said it felt like running through clouds or finding gold, I thought, "That can't be right, that's not what I feel, it's much darker, it feels like being tossed around in a storm at sea, caught between life and death!" But then I tried thinking about running through clouds or finding gold in a mine while listening, and I can feel it! There is salvation in the power of this piece, and you made me feel it for the first time!
Love the Masters! Do you remember when pop music came out with their version called a Fifth of Beethoven? It was great and proves good music is timeless.
It's so good, it's unearthly, isn't it? So many musicians working together to produce such a rich, powerful, emotional sound for us. So glad that you open yourself to different genres of music so that you won't miss out.
