Reviews
Last year the American academic and musicologist Lewis Lockwood published an exhaustive, rigourously intelectual biography of Beethoven, with detailed technical and critical exploration of the music. I'm sure it was highly praised by his peers, and deserves a place on the shelves of music pofessionals and fellow academics. But it wasn;t what you'd call a light and easy read.
John Suchet, by contrast, is a journalist, whose three books on Beethoven haved proved popular best-sellers. Heavywight critics have dismissed Suchet's occasional immaginitive reconstruction of an event or recreation of a conversation. But the ITV news presenter and former foreign correspondant makes no claims for his book as leaned tomes.
However I suspect the average theatre management, offered the choice of John Suchet or Professor Lockwood would always opt for the British Journalist, who understands the art of telling a good story. Certainly those of us that were there richly enjoyed the entertainment provided by Suchet and his trio of musicians. The theatre wasn't full - a clash with Wimborne Choral Society's anniversary concert at the Minster inevitably split the towns music-loving audience - but there was a large crowd at the Tivoli for this witty and often moving portrait of the great composer.
Suchet traced the life of the composer from the discovery of the boy genius of Bonn, a piano virtuoso who could improvise on any theme for hours, through to the miserable winters night flight fom his brother's farm and his wretched final weeks. The talk was sprinkled with self deprecating asides in which Suchet poked fun at his schoolboy German (it sounded pretty good to me), and his earnest researches - asking a Vienesse landlady if she knew Beethoven had regularly drunk at her inn, only to be shown the great man's picture on the menu.
With a capitivating blend of anecdote and history, illustrated by well-chosen musical fragments and extracts, Suchet painted a rounded picture of a man who is all too often depicted simply as a grumpy old deaf genius. Beethoven emerged as a man who certainly had a sense of humour - we were treated to a couple of his musical jokes; who was unlucky in love, had a terrible temper and could be totally un reasonable, but was also kind, generous, attracting loyal friends, both men and women, throughout his years in Vienna.
A colourful story of improvisation competitions in which wealthy aritocrats patrons pitted their pet pianists against each other gave us a fascinating insight in to the ways composers can find inspiration. During his travels in Austria, researching the life and times of his favourite composer, Suchet visited many places normally off the tourist track, and even discovered the house of Beethoven's estranged brother Johann, where the composer's suite is preserved, with a mural of the Rhine painted round the walls to remind Johann of his much loved home-land. The present owners of the farm showed Suchet the marks on the paint where the Russioan soldiers at the end of the war had struck mathches to light their cigarettes!
The musical interludes were played by pianist Bernard Lansky, who is assistant director of music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and two young string players, violinist Sally Jackson and Charles Watt. It was Suchet's second visit to the Tivoli - he complimented the management on the improvements (particularly backstage) and urged the audience to support "this lovely theatre".
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