In Search of Beethoven

I saw this film at the start of last month at the Barbican London. Having been impressed the directors previous offering In Search of Mozart, I was looking forward to see what In Search of Beethoven had to offer. The film offers a great insight into the life of Beethoven taking into account social, historical and musical goings on of the time and how they shaped and influenced his life and music. The number of contributors that appear in the film is extraordinary, Ronald Brautigam, Helene Grimaud, Orchestraof the 18th Century, Endellion, Sir Roger Norrington to name a few and there must be at least over 50 pieces of music featured. Some have complained about the length of In Search of Beethoven, I would agree in some respects that it may have been a tad too long however I was engrossed in the film from start to finish. I wonder what the director Phil Grabsky will go In Search of next….

In Search of Beethoven is essentially a biography. Through studies of his music and fragments of letters written by Beethoven, the film traces the chapters of his life and his growing musical prowess.

In the beginning of the film, there is an assertion that Beethoven might be the greatest composer of all time. The film sets about making its case and--no surprise--it is fairly successful. No one seriously doubts the prodigious talents of Ludwig van. Nevertheless, the film places his musical development within the historical happenings of Europe, helping the viewer to better understand the forces that were at play in his life. His life touched the lives of other great composers, Napoleon, and Goethe, for example. And these contacts helped shape his musical career.

As someone who was fairly knowledgeable about Beethoven's circumstances, I still found the film entertaining. The timeline of his life helped to clarify. And the numerous performances of Beethoven's music illustrated his genius and his extraordinary creativity.

The film makes the case that though Beethoven's life was tragic with regard to his health and his romantic choices, he was ever the optimist--a well-supported position that I consider a pleasing discovery.

However, am I the only viewer who thought that the Ninth Symphony was represented by a somewhat weak performance (maybe because that orchestra was dedicated to performing in the style of the piece's time, without anachronisms)?

Those who enjoy classical music or Beethoven's works should appreciate this film. Anyone who wants to learn about western classical music should find the film informative.

I was somewhat disappointed with the Mozart episode after I watched this one. I enjoy Mozart's music more than Beethoven's, but this 'In Search Of...' was geared much more towards the classical music fan. The music played here is exhaustive. If I had to guess, I'd say they play over 50 tunes written by Beethoven. If you're looking for more of a biography you probably want to look at a more focused documentary in conjunction with this one. For me, who is ten times more interested in the music, this show was perfect! They use very talented players and list the players on the screen which is nice if you want to explore today's classical music performers. Ludwig had a fairly long life that was presented here as being pretty depressing. Mentions of suicide, illness and of course deafness are peppered throughout the documentary. He only created maybe half as many works as his contemporaries like Mozart or Haydn, but they present a nice case for crowning Herr Beethoven as the king of all Western music (personally, I'd put him at number 3 on that list).

It is profoundly important to learn about Beethoven as one of the supreme examples of persistence in the face of adversity (personal as well as social).

I wish this film would not have avoided the story of Beethoven's father, who it is said, berated his son saying "Why can't you be more like Mozart?" Commentators side-stepped the psychological impact of this, as if it were merely genetic that he was "irascible" like his father. He was irascible in some ways, because of his father. This was even great adversity which he turned into some of the most brilliant music ever written. Had he focused entirely on being the victim, the world would never have had such astonishing music that has stood the test of time. The inspiration of Beethoven's life stands the test of time as well.

This is not the quintessential Beethoven documentary but that is more a testament to the power of the story of Beethoven himself and what his story continues to teach the world.

A fascinating story, very well structured and put together in a narrative sense, but very lacking cinematically. I imagine it would work well as a two-parter for TV, but in the cinema, after two hours, I was longing for some relief from the (almost all) poorly composed close-ups of the (very interesting) interviewees, from the constant shots of twigs and of wintry rural miscellany, and from the unimaginative coverage of musical performances. There are far too many close-ups of instruments being played, without a wider perspective, or a contextual association.. geography. And why were almost all the talking-head shots framed to exclude people's hair, yet include much of their shirts? Was it because the director hadn't thought of subtitles and had to reconfigure the compositions in post-production? The most extreme close-up was of a man with unfortunately large ears. There are more flattering ways to photograph such people; and the audience is more likely to pay attention to what he is saying, and not stare at his ears. For Mr Grabsky's next film, may I suggest - if he can afford it - hire a full-time cameraman, someone who sees stories visually. This is a great story, but not a very good-looking one.