Dear god and anyone wanted to say he couldn’t do counterpoint. After this and the Hammerklavier sonata I think it’s fairly easy to say he went beyond just mastery. The one thing I love over Beethoven than any other composer is how each theme feels so ‘non-fugal’ as though he just stumbled upon a bunch of melodies which just happen to slot together perfectly.

I used to look for string orchestra arrangements of this but actually this recording has the cold savagery I look for

its hard to believe 9:00 wasnt something written as a result of time travel. it really sounds absolutely nothing like anything else written in the century.

I still find this a daunting piece to listen to. I can't imagine what it's like for the performers, who have not only to learn it but also to interpret it.

I just love the intensity of the recording

I used to listen to this. And, 2 pages in, I already want to listen to it all again. It feels great to experience this again.

I only recently got into classical music, with Beethoven as the catalyst. I have nowhere near the background to appreciate the craftsmanship of pieces like this, and because it’s not very tuneful, it’s certainly not the most accessible for someone who only recently learned what it even means for a piece to be in a “major” or a “‘minor” key! But there so much to appreciate in Beethoven music beyond the technical merit (or, as he himself would say, the “syllable counting”). This piece is no exception. Every time I listen to it, there is a new layer of emotion I can peel off; there is something new about Beethoven’s state of mind I can discern, or some new way that it can alter my own; there is a new moment that makes my heart skip a beat. It may take a lifetime for me to fully comprehend it (if even), but I am so excited. And hey, it may not be the most tuneful thing out there, but I’ve caught myself whistling to bits and pieces off it! Unlike you, though, I haven’t caught any weird looks as a result :)

I still remember the whole commentary! It was one of the greatest times I've spent on KZfaq

Imagine being a violinist in 1820 and having to play this

There is something magical about this piece when you can clearly hear that it’s written by Beethoven. Some recordings seem to go with a more conservative baroque-like approach and it just doesn’t work. This recording however, definitely has this ambitious fiery and fearless pride that Ludwig had when writing this work.

My new go-to video for listening to Grosse Fuge! I can hear all the voices so much better with the highlighted score, and this is a great recording as well

Wonderful performance of a marvelous composition...and he was deaf as a brick at this point?

7:48 time stamping the second intense fugue for myself

Ohoho this is handy

A great video idea, watching it like this after rewatching the video with commentary is very educational and useful, thank you

Thank you for uploading.

thanks richard, this is very epic of you 😘

Love your videos! I think making a separate video with only the music and colored themes/fragments after hearing your analysis really adds to the understanding of these pieces (although, in your analysis, you already let us hear whole sections, and sometimes you dont analyse the WHOLE piece so i dont know if this type of video would always be feasible..) anyway..INCREDIBLE CONTENT , definitly the best of its kind on youtube

What a coincidence. I was just thinking the other day, as I rewatched your EPIC Bruckner 5th symphony finale video, that an analysis video without commentary might be a great idea... and it is! It works great.

Dang, this is crazy!

Great idea, thank you!!

Incredible.

You could say this is Große

Hey! Love your videos. I think it would be very cool if you did the same with the final movement of the jupiter symphony

so glad I found your channel after listening to the jupiter symphony finale! any plans to do verklarte nacht in the future?

You should make more of these for some of your most popular videos

Staggering!

Beethoven es un súper humano y unos de mis compositores favoritos, sin embargo creo que esta obra aún no logró comprenderla! Tal vez algún día la entenderé pero ahora no!

You could do commentary removed videos for some of your older analysis ; Eroica finale, Bruckner 5, Mozart 41, etc. It would look very nice.

12:09 I see you annotated the shared entries of the subject, you sounded very annoyed in an interveiw that you missed it.

Im courious in you will ever do a Video on Max Reger's exquisite use of counterpoit

Could you analyze Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame please?

EPIC

It's still a mystery…

Takács Quartet's recording is also my favourite. Try this one! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/b5ySmtKbq8eUe4E.html

Hard&Great

👏

Do Greig string quartet in G minor next please

A video on bach ricercar a 6 voci please? 🙏🏻

Do the same to the 4th movement of the Eroica. :)

I don't normally use the word masterpiece because it sounds kinda lame but this falls into that category. Similarly, this is about the only piece I say that you need a lot of classical music knowledge to understand it but that's just because this piece is weird and confusing (in a good way if that makes sense).

I call it the Awimbawe fugue.

Now let's be honest: Actually, I find this composition pretty weak. The best thing about it are the melodic parts that interrupt the otherwise very strange and frizzy progression, especially the quite conventional, beautiful ending that makes you forget the rest.

While I appreciate the complexity of this, I cannot listen to the first five minutes of the fugue. I really dislike the theme.

This is horrendous music, military and "révolutionnaire", in the communist sense of the word.