Poet Rita Dove wrote a book about Beethoven, his best friend in 1803, and the piece they premiered together. Beethoven wrote an astonishing sonata inspired by the virtuosity of violinist George Bridgetower. But one night over drinks, the two friends got into a fight. Beethoven took Bridgetower's name off the music, and they never spoke again. Rita Dove has re-imagined their relationship in her book, "Sonata Mulattica." She joins PT host Fred Child to guide us through their story, and through the piece that's become known as Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Leos Janacek: Adagio from String Quartet No. 1 ("Kreutzer Sonata")
The Jullliard String Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 9 in A for Violin and Piano, Op. 47 ("Kreutzer")
Violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Martha Argerich
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York
Hour 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: First movement from Piano Sonata in C, K. 545
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
Johann Friedrich Fasch: Trumpet Concerto in D
David Washburn, trumpet, and friends
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in B Minor, K. 27
Sara Daneshpour, piano
Frederic Chopin Society, St. Paul
Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade in G
The Escher String Quartet
Music@Menlo, Palo Alto, California
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488
Mitsuko Uchida, piano and conductor, the Cleveland Orchestra
Severance Hall, Cleveland
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