BEETHOVEN WAS AT GOODWILL

It was only his bust actually, but it was a good looking and fair sized one. It was first displayed behind the cashier's counter for safe keeping. Otherwise someone might deface it or worse would  swipe it when nobody's looking.

I saw it first together with a nice, old lady who asked me:

"Would this be Schubert or Beethoven?"

"I bet this this Beethoven.." I answered with a firm tone.

"Yeah, I think so too..How did you know?. You must love classical music then?"

"Yes, I do.." I answered with a bit of pride in my voice. What I did not not tell her is that under his chin was an inscription of his name. It was written so small that it needs someone with a good vision to be able to read it farom a distance..

Anyways, we started to talk casually about jis works: Fur Elise, 5th Symphony, Waltz in G. G in this case means key of G ( 1 sharp) and not Gorilla.

The lady even said further: "I think this was made by an artist who lives around the Dundas subway area. Like any other artist, you could recognize his style in all his works.."

Then she asked me: "Are you going to buy it?"

"I am thinking about it.."

When I say " I am thinking about it,  it means it is close to doing it. Then we both left the spot because some customers started lining up and we were on their way.

But all the time, my mind was figuring out whether to buy it..It comes with a pedestal and it really looked beautiful. Both the bust and the pedestal cost 35$ plus a 7% tax.

From the CD bin, I saw one with Fur Elise in it. I opened the CD cover if nobody stole the CD yet. Yes, it is still there.  Not many like to listen to classical music stuff. That made up my mind to buy the statue.

So later that day, Miguelita and I were re arranging ALL  the furniture in our living room. Just to accomodate Ludwig Van Beethoven. Now he occupies a very cozy spot in our house beside the buffet and hutch and far from  pedestrian lane.

So, here's to Mr. Beethoven. His physical handicap did not stop him from composing a number of beautiful melodies. He is the only musician who could not hear his later compositions because he became totally deaf. He can only hear them by reading whatever notes he wrote on a page of blank music manuscript...

 

Beethoven belongs to the 3 big Bs in music. The other two are Brahms and Bach.

 

A full view of our living room..

 

Different views of Mr. B's figurine..

 

I took these different shots just  an exercise on the dramatic effects that could come out with the  use of different kinds of light on a subject. Absence or presence of light create different moods.  And on the viewer too.

 

When Beethoven composed this piece around 1810, he hastily scribbled a title on it which we know as "Fur Elise." Now, however, music scholars believe that Beethoven's illegible title was really "Fur Therese," and the composition was intended as a gift  for Therese Malfatti, his physician's daughter..

Beethoven waged war with many people during his life: his landlords, his debtors, his students, his friends and of course his deafness which is the worst fate that could happen to a music composer.

 He never knew also that part of his music would help in a way to the invasion of Normandy ( the anniversary is to be celebrated tommorow, June 6 ). The opening bars of his Symphony no. 5 was the go-signal for the combined Allied armada to cross the English Channel and liberate France from Germany. This short, one bar musical theme  was transmitted by wireless to the underground people in France. This music theme was also used  every now and then in the  THE LONGEST DAY the blockbuster movie about June 6 invasion , based on the best seller work of Cornelius Ryan.---#