Klarinet Archive - Posting 000241.txt from 2001/11

From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Yes We Have No Bananas vs. Beethoven 9
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 17:33:57 -0500

Here is a question for anyone who cares to tackle it, but I'm especially
hoping Dan Leeson might have something to say about it. This is, admittedly
belatedly, in response to the long discussion engendered by Dan's posting
which included:

> A proclamation was offered a few weeks ago when a poster suggested that
> "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is, without doubt, the finest
> composition ever created and nothing can possibly compare with it."

My question is, would you admit the possibility that there is any work of
Beethoven's which could be regarded as in any way "superior" to any other
one in his catalog? For example, if we were compare the Ninth Symphony with
"Wellington's Victory," according to any criteria that could be conceived
of, is there any way of saying that one of them is intrensically or
artistically more successful than the other? Or, if you prefer, we could
take other pairs of compositions as examples, such as the violin concerto
and the "equestrian ballet," a work so lightly regarded and obscure that it
has probably not been performed in the past century. Or, we could compare
the Missa Solemnis with the duets for clarinet and bassoon, works from such
an early period in Beethoven's life that they are listed as "WoO" (without
opus number).

Now, if we were to pose the question, "Which is superior, an apple or a
horse?", or, "Which has more intrensic value, an ocean or a mountain?", it
would seem clear that there is no basis for comparison. But, in the case of
the Beethoven examples, we are talking about musical compositions which have
much in common - they come from the same era, and presumably should at least
have similar aesthetic orientation, since they are works of the same
composer.

Depending on the response, I hope to have a follow-up to this post.

Ed Lacy
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Dr. Edwin Lacy, Professor of Music
University of Evansville
Evansville, IN
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