"triple_r" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> > > Dunno. What's he sound like?
> >
> > His later work is loud, largely due to his deafness.  Check out his fifth
> > symphony (a very well known work) or the 9th.
>
> Or his late string quartets (~Op. 127-135), some of the last music he wrote, not
> to mention some of the best.

I don't know what loudness you guys are talking about.  If you're talking about
dynamics of expression, Beethoven always had a passion for very contrasting
dynamics.  His music is filled with passion and extreme emotional states, even
from before deafness:  going from pianissimo to fortissimo and vice-versa --
using the full dynamic range the developing piano-forte allowed in contrast
with the older harpsichord.  How can you convey passion without dynamics?

Think Beethoven is loud?  Ever heard Wagner?  But yes, not too many people
enjoyed his "savage" sounds, like Chopin once put it.

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