A Glorious School for the Heart — Nature & Beethoven’s “Pastorale”
This performance of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, “Pastorale,” with pianist Christopher Johnson was originally produced as part of our 2021 Summer Festival Nature & Music.
From the outset, this sublime nature-inspired opus was intended as a signature work of our NATURE & MUSIC celebration with Christopher as the soloist, the sole indoor performance in an otherwise all-outdoor festival. When it became apparent this past winter that pandemic restrictions would most likely render a grand piano performance of this sonata in the Sembrich studio unlikely, Christopher volunteered to prepare a virtual presentation of the work from his studio in New York.
What follows below are a pair of videos, an exploratory introduction to the piece by Christopher and a performance of the “Pastorale” in its entirety.
“Beethoven: the Man and the Artist, as Revealed in his own Words”
To begin, for insight into Beethoven’s profound love of nature, we turn to a book entitled “Beethoven: the Man and the Artist, as Revealed in his own Words,” published in 1905 by B.W. Huebsch, edited by Friedrich Kerst and Henry Edward Krehbiel (the latter being a noted critic of the day who wrote frequently about Madame Sembrich):
Beethoven's Walk in Nature by Julius Schmid (Print). The Sembrich Collection
Beethoven was a true son of the Rhine in his love for nature. As a boy he had taken extended trips, sometimes occupying days, with his father “through the Rhenish localities ever lastingly dear to me.” In his days of physical health Nature was his instructress in art; “I may not come without my banner,” he used to say when he set out upon his wanderings even in his latest years, and never without his note books. In the scenes of nature he found his marvelous motives and themes; brook, birds and tree sang to him…
But when he was excluded more and more from communion with his fellow men because of his increasing deafness, until, finally, he could communicate only by writing with others (hence the conversation-books, which will be cited often in this little volume), he fled for refuge to nature. Out in the woods he again became naively happy; to him the woods were a Holy of Holies, a Home of the Mysteries. Forest and mountain-vale heard his sighs; there he unburdened his heavy-laden heart. When his friends need comfort he recommends a retreat to nature. Nearly every summer he leaves hot and dusty Vienna and seeks a quiet spot in the beautiful neighborhood. To call a retired and reposeful little spot his own is his burning desire.
To Baroness von Drossdick, he wrote: “How happy I am to be able to wander among bushes and herbs, under trees and over rocks; no man can love the country as I love it. Woods, trees and rocks send back the echo that man desires.”
View of the city of Bonn from Kreuzberg. Etching by Johann Ziegler after a watercolor by Lorenz Janscha. The Sembrich Collection
In July, 1814, Beethoven had gone to Baden after the benefit performance of “Fidelio”: “My miserable hearing does not trouble me here. In the country it seems as if every tree said to me: ‘Holy! holy!’ Who can give complete expression to the ecstasy of the woods! O, the sweet stillness of the woods!”
Beethoven came of age in the Enlightenment, and “his search for faith remained centered on the standard Enlightenment precepts of humanity, universal brotherhood, progress, morality, and reason,” this according to Charles Petzold and his website: www.completebeethoven.com
“Beethoven likely believed in God as evidenced by manifestations of nature. It is well known that Beethoven was fond of a book by Christian Sturm, Betrachtungen uber die Werke Gottes in der Natur (“Observations Concerning God’s Works in Nature”).
The following two passages from that book by Sturm were copied by Beethoven into his diary in 1818:
“Nature is a glorious school for the heart! It is well; I shall be a scholar in this school and bring an eager heart to her instruction. Here I shall learn wisdom, the only wisdom that is free from disgust; here I shall learn to know God and find a foretaste of heaven in His knowledge. Among these occupations my earthly days shall flow peacefully along until I am accepted into that world where I shall no longer be a student, but a knower of wisdom.”
“Soon autumn will be here. Then I wish to be like unto a fruitful tree which pours rich stores of fruit into our laps! But in the winter of existence, when I shall be gray and sated with life, I desire for myself the good fortune that my repose be as honorable and beneficent as the repose of nature in the winter time.”
Christopher Johnson on Beethoven’s “Pastorale”
Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 “Pastorale” by Ludwig van Beethoven was published in 1802. The name, “Pastorale,” was first coined by London publisher, Broderip & Wilkinson.
“The title works well for this pantheistic four-movement lyric libation to nature,” writes David Dubal in his book (The Art of the Piano) “‘The Pastorale’ is spacious, disarmingly unpretentious, magnificently gentle.”
Pianist Christopher Johnson describes the work in these terms:
“Beethoven’s ‘Pastorale’ is a glorious four-movement work emanating the mysteries and wonders of nature. While much of the work has a gentle underpinning, it magnificently glows with energy, life, and vitality. Scholars have described the work as sublime, and Beethoven’s genius is apparent from the first note to the last.”
We begin now with "An Exploration of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 28 in D Major ‘Pastorale,’” an insightful introduction and personal overview by Christopher Johnson of this important piano masterwork:
Acknowledgements
On behalf of The Sembrich, we express enormous gratitude to Christopher Johnson for sharing his artistry with us in preparing this virtual performance of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, “Pastorale.”
We also want to express our appreciation to videographer Max Shuppert for his excellent preparation and editing of Christopher Johnson’s performance videos and artist Greg Stevenson. Greg created the Beethoven sketch that serves as the background for the composer’s signature in the banner at the top of this article and in the videos themselves.
About The Artist
American concert pianist Christopher Johnson has appeared extensively in recital, on radio and TV, as soloist with orchestras, and in chamber ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South America, and Europe winning extraordinarily high critical acclaim.
In New York City, Christopher Johnson made his solo recital debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall followed by eight performances with the One World Symphony performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, and Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. He soloed with dozens of other symphony orchestras including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Greater Trenton Symphony, the Westfield Symphony, and the Plainfield Symphony (with whom he has performed over 10 different piano concerti as Artist-in-Residence from 1999-2007).
Christopher Johnson has performed 23 seasons with the Bar Harbor Music Festival totaling over 100 performances through their touring program. He has additionally given dozens of performances at the Pierre Monteux School in Maine from 1999-2018, which included 7 different piano concerti with their orchestra. He has made 12 appearances at The Sembrich and performed the Horowitz/Sousa "Stars and Stripes Forever" in Washington DC (Lincoln Memorial) at the 2001 Presidential All-Star Gala for President George W. Bush. In 2008, Alfred Music Publishing internationally released his book, “Popular Performer: Broadway,” which comprises advanced piano arrangements of Broadway shows.
Born in New Jersey, Christopher Johnson received early piano instruction from Paul DiDario. He later received his BM in 1996 from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Abbey Simon and assisted David Dubal. In 2017, Christopher was acknowledged and quoted in the newly published book, “Inner Voices: Abbey Simon with Garnet Ungar.” Pursuing further studies with Byron Janis and Marc Silverman at the Manhattan School of Music, he received his MM in 1998 and his DMA in 2003. Dr. Johnson has served on the piano faculty of the United Nations International School for 3 years in New York City, and he has been teaching privately for the past 16 years hosting annual student recitals at Steinway Hall in New York City. Striving to always improve performances, Christopher continues to receive coaching from acclaimed pianist, Olegna Fuschi.