I am grateful to Andrew Carlan, and less so to Billy Kitson for finally
giving me the courage to admit that for years I have thought Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony too long, overblown, pompous, and boring, but, I'm ashamed
to say, I lacked the courage to say so.  Being a musicologist and a teacher
who feels duty bound to discuss and play it anyway, I've always felt like
a priest who having discovered a creeping athiesm, has decided to keep it
to himself.  I further admit that those piano sonatas that every piano
teacher I had so worshiped (and which I seldom mastered) have some nice
passages--even some exciting passages, but on the whole they strike me as
merciless banging.  The Hammerklavier Sonata, which everyone else finds
so wonderful, leaves me feeling beat up and sorry for the piano.  I can't
quite follow Kitson to his dismissal of all of Beethoven.  I like the
symphonies (except for the third--there, I said it, and I'm glad).  I stood
through a performance of Fideleo at the Vienna Opera.  I was dazzled by
Leinsdorf's reading of the Leonora overature (he died shortly thereafter,
which made that performance a memorable one for me), but the rest of
the opera left me wishing I could sit down.  Thank you for reading this.
Confession has been good for my soul.  And thank you to the two of you
who have allowed me to come out of the closet.

Roy Ellefsen <[log in to unmask]>