Building Beethoven's 7th

A behind-the-scenes look at how conductor Paul Henry Smith puts together a performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. This podcast focuses on musical choices and issues.

Building Beethoven’s 7th - Wii Test

May 6, 2007 in Building Beethoven's 7th | 4 comments

 
icon for podpress  Wii Test 1 [4:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Downloads 2097

Testing the Wii-moteThis short video shows my first test using the Nintendo Wii controller, or “Wii-mote,” to affect the playback of a short passage. The motion and position of the controller tells the computer to select from among pre-recorded samples of musicians playing loud or soft.


The results are promising, but I can easily see that this approach will have limitations as the music gets more complex. For example, when first violins need to be emphasized and then second violins immediately following them, how will the controller “know” which instrument group to modify? We’ll probably have to pair multiple controllers (perhaps Wii-motes) with multiple musicians and computers.

Building Beethoven’s 7th - Allegretto (complete)

April 25, 2007 in Building Beethoven's 7th | 1 comment

This episode presents the complete performance of the second movement, Allegretto, of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, Op. 92. Performed by the Fauxharmonic Orchestra.

 
icon for podpress  Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 - II. Allegretto [7:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Downloads 1081

(Optimized for iPod playback: The dynamic range has been reduced.)

Building Beethoven’s 7th - Hidden Clarinet?

April 24, 2007 in Building Beethoven's 7th | 5 comments

A “hidden” melody in the middle of the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is uncovered and performed by the Fauxharmonic Orchestra. The melody has actually only been “hidden” in plain sight, for it is clearly written in the score.

 
icon for podpress  The hidden clarinet [7:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Downloads 717