Beethoven and Goethe
"Beethoven had already read and studied Goethe’s works intensively during his youth in Bonn, long before their first personal encounter. His first Goethe settings were produced around 1790. Beethoven announced his Music to Egmont in a first letter to the poet in the spring of 1811 with the following words: “I am only able to approach you with the greatest veneration with an inexpressably deep feeling for your glorious creations.” He had already set 18 texts by Goethe, two others were to follow. Goethe therefore occupies a privileged position in Beethoven’s vocal works."
Read more about this topic: Beethoven And His Contemporaries
Famous quotes containing the words beethoven and/or goethe:
“Must it be? It must be.
[Muss es sein? Es muss sein.]”
—Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770–1827)
“Man ... knows only when he is satisfied and when he suffers, and only his sufferings and his satisfactions instruct him concerning himself, teach him what to seek and what to avoid. For the rest, man is a confused creature; he knows not whence he comes or whither he goes, he knows little of the world, and above all, he knows little of himself.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)