Rethinking Beethoven

The American Beethoven Society is having it's second biennial convention, titled "Rethinking Beethoven." The conference will be held on July 27-29 in San Jose, California. Here is the program:

F r i d a y, J u l y 2 7

3:30 Welcome from ABS President James Hawley
3:30-4:20 Patricia Stroh, Curator, Beethoven Center: “Unlocking the Vault: An Exploration of Treasures from the Beethoven Center’s collection
4:30-5:30 Dr. William Meredith: “Beethoven and the Broadwood Fortepiano: Information on His Familiarity with English Instruments”
7:00-9:00 Opening Banquet (University Room)

S a t u r d a y, J u l y 2 8

9:30-10:00 Dr. Donna Beckage, Getty Research Institute: “Beethoven: Close Encounters of the Word Kind”
10:00-10:30 Adriana Ratsch-Rivera, Contra Costa College: “Motivic Relationships between the Fifth Symphony and Works from the Bonn Period”
10:45-11:45 Lecture-recital by Janine Johnson, fortepianist, harpsichordist, and builder: “The Rivalry between the Fortepiano and the
Harpsichord in the 18th Century”
2:00-2:30 Dr. Ernest Bergel, emeritus faculty, Harvard Medical School: “What Did Fidelio Mean to Beethoven?”
2:30-3:00 Dr. Frederick Skinner, emeritus faculty University of Montana: “From Tsar to Commissar: How the Russians Have Heard Beethoven”
3:15-4:15: KEYNOTE SPEECH IN MEMORY OF IRA F. BRILLIANT: Dr. Owen Jander, emeritus faculty, Wellesley College: “Alexander Pope’s
‘Ode: The Dying Christian to His Soul’: The Inspiration for Beethoven’s ‘Süßer Ruhegesang oder Friedensgesang,’ the Lento assai, cantante
tranquillo of His Swansong String Quartet, Opus 135”
4:15-5:15 The Cypress String Quartet in Recital
Haydn: “Russian” String Quartet in G Major, Opus 33, no. 5
Beethoven String Quartet in F Major, Opus 135

S u n d a y, J u l y 2 9
9:00 -12:00 Beethoven Movie Mini-Festival in Program Room (Center)
9:00-11:10 “Eroica­The Day that Changed Music Forever.” Opus Arte 2004 BBC film directed by Nick Dear with Ian Hart as Beethoven. 129 minutes.
11:20-12:00 “Beethoven: Triumph over Silence” by Dr. Victor Goodhill (Ear surgery, UCLA School of Medicine)
11:20-12:00 “Beethoven’s Skull Bones”­a presentation by Paul and Joan Kaufmann

2:00-2:30 Dr. John Clubbe, emeritus faculty, Duke University: “Napoleon and Fidelio”
2:30-3:00 Dr. L. Poundie Burstein, Associate Professor, Hunter College: “‘Brüder auf!’: Beethoven’s Op. 81a and the Battles of 1809”
3:45-4:30 KEYNOTE LECTURE-RECITAL
Dr. Susan Kagan, President, New York chapter of the American Beethoven Society; emerita professor, Hunter College: “Ferdinand Ries, Forerunner of the Romantic Piano Sonata.”