On October 4th, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestrawill perform Beethoven Lives Upstairs. A popular kids program about a young boy who lives below a supposed “madman” named Ludwig van Beethoven. Vignettes of Beethoven and the boy are interspersed with the music Beethoven is known for.
In the music program, Beethoven exhibits characteristics of a noisy upstairs neighbor. KSO Assistant Conductor Daniel Brier is conducting the show. He says characterizing Beethoven as a madman wouldn't have been far off - he fit the stereotype of the mad composer.
"Beethoven was very unkempt. And so if you would have looked at him, you would have seen hair all over the place. You would have seen someone who is probably lost in his thoughts as he was walking around. It's really interesting, yet doesn't make it in to the actual show - but if you read first-hand accounts from his lifetime, his working conditions were probably the worst possible. Like just stuff everywhere. And so as organized as his music was, he wasn't a very organized person."
Unlike some eccentric composers, Beethoven also had to overcome hearing problems later in his life. Brier says this makes Beethoven a very complex figure.
"I think he really is great for children that way because he's an example of someone who overcame all odds to become one of the greatest composers that ever lived," says Brier.
Music That Fits The Tone
Though the show contains a lot of biographical information, the music is not in chronological order. Instead, the creators of Beethoven Lives Upstairs have chosen music that fits the emotion going on in the plot of the show.
Brier says these are all tunes that kids should know - Für Elise, The Moonlight Sonata, as well as excerpts from Beethoven's first, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth symphonies.
Brier says as he conducts these pieces from Beethoven from now on, he'll remember these excerpts from Beethoven Lives Upstairs and the facts behind Beethoven's life. He says it helps him to make that emotional connection to the music:
"Sometimes it's hard because I can feel it, but putting it into words is very difficult. But this also gives me an opportunity to say, 'Oh, you know this feels like music of longing' or 'this feels like music of turmoil.' And a lot of times when I'm talking with...doing pre-concert lectures and things like that, those are the types of things that help people really get that 'in' into the music and start to really understand it personally."
An Award-Winning Children's Program
Originally created as an audio book and then later a movie, Beethoven Lives Upstairs has received several accolades for children's and family programming.
But what is it about the show that makes it so popular? Brier says there's a lot of substance to this production and they're not trying to dumb it down for kids.
"I have a five-year old at home and so I'm kind of in a stage of life where I'm always thinking about this. And I find that she latches on to substance far more than movies or TV shows that lack substance. Now it doesn't mean that she doesn't like some of those shows, but she really returns...And I'll give you an example: When she's sitting around playing her Legos, I hear her singing The Nutcracker all the time."
Brier says you really get to experience all of the emotions that Beethoven felt in his lifetime - whether it's triumph, or sorrow, or turmoil.
"And children can really resonate with that," he says.
Plus, Brier adds, the music that they've chosen is very compelling and you get to hear the perfect amount of it - not too short, but not too long.
