Beethoven's 250th Birthday Celebration
Wow how time flies! The end of February 2021 is almost here and we haven’t blogged in a while. We have been meaning to write about projects in December 2020 but we went into holiday mode for Christmas after our recording projects (and we were really, really ready for Christmas straight after Thanksgiving). We enjoyed the rest of the Holidays watching Christmas movies, making gingerbread trifle and drinking egg nog!
December 16th, 2020 marked the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. We wanted to celebrate and honor the occasion making music together but there aren’t any duos by him for Violin and Viola. We considered the transcriptions of his clarinet and bassoon duos but then we thought about a collaboration. Lilian’s brother, Michael, is a cellist in Australia, and we were excited that he was available and happy to record a movement of a string trio (violin, viola and cello) by Beethoven.
We were hesitant at first, because it would require making a “click track” in order to sync our recordings, so that it lines up properly. We have never created one before, and we were worried that it wouldn’t work. Chamber music is not meant to be done over the internet. However, like so many other musicians during COVID-19, we’re faced with no way to share music with others unless we at least try to work “outside the box”. Beethoven’s influence on the history of music is so important and while the thought of doing a recording project like what we had in mind wasn’t ideal we were still enthusiastic to see what the end result could be.
After finding an early work of Beethoven’s “Serenade, Op. 8,” we decided that the Theme and Variations movement would be ideal. Beethoven used the Theme and Variations form throughout his life, and some of his best pieces are written in that form. We decided to plunge headfirst into this project and figured if we announced that this performance was happening on Beethoven’s birthday—December 16th, then we would have to do it…we didn’t want to let Beethoven down and so we did it!
The Process:
We used Finale, a music writing software, to create a click track. We input part of the Beethoven trio along with a percussion beat to keep it in sync. We then added tempo changes, slowdowns (ritardandos) where appropriate to close out each of the variations and to apply to particularly important musical moments.
Finally, once we completed the click track, we sent it to Michael so he could practice and record his part. We had him record his part first, because as a string ensemble it is easier to tune by listening down to the lower parts (like the cello). He had to wear an earbud with the click track playing so his recording would be synced up. Once his part was recorded (video and audio) he then sent it to us. Once we received his part, we then practiced with it, and then recorded our parts layering it on his. We would always have to record with an earbud in, to make sure that our recordings were syncing up.
Once we had everything recorded, we used GarageBand to sync up the sound first, and then from there, we used a video editing software to sync up the visual. And finally we put the two together, and had our finished performance!
After all of this, we believe that we put on a successful performance, even while navigating the difficulties with COVID-19. It was a lot of work, especially figuring out all of the technological stuff with creating a click track, and syncing the video and recordings (and that does not include all the practice and rehearsal time!). Despite the issues presented by COVID-19, the experience of learning, performing and sharing music was still possible. We’re proud to have produced something memorable to honor Beethoven’s 250th birthday!
About Michael Dahlenburg:
Chamber music is central to his life and career; as the cellist of the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) Michael is fortunate to spend his time devoted to this amazing repertoire. Michael is also fortunate to perform on a cello crafted by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Piacenza, c. 1743. It is on loan from UKARIA.
To learn more about Michael and the Australian String Quartet visit https://asq.com.au
To learn more about the instrument visit the UKARIA website https://www.ukaria.com/--Guadagnini-Instruments/
Lilian’s brother, Michael Dahlenburg. He prepared for our performance getting into the Christmas spirit with seasonal socks! The cello is older than Beethoven by 27 years!!!
Throwback to Michael and Lilian making music at Christmas time in the Land Down Under.
Duo Licht recording studio aka Andy and Lilian’s apartment.