The Relationship of Ludwig Van Beethoven and Johann Nepomuk Mälzel Through the Metronome
Throughout history, music has been transformed by composers’ works, both musically and technically, with different and new ideas. Some composers marked the end of an era, while others marked the beginning of a new era and art movement. Some composers brought a new perspective and innovations to music in their own time and inspired the ages that came after them. But no composer has elevated the sonata, concerto, chamber music and symphony form to a level that is considered almost unattainable like Ludwig van Beethoven. The works of the composer, who took his place as a turning point in the transition from the Classical Period to the Romantic Period, are analyzed as belonging to both periods. For this reason, he revolutionized music in his time as a composer whose bold innovations were accepted, applauded and respected. The political upheavals of his time, popular uprisings and wars, Beethoven’s solution-oriented interest in social issues and problems, all find a place in his correspondence, discourse and most importantly in his music.
In this study, in addition to the changes that L.v. Beethoven, an innovative and open personality to the changes in the world, created in his music; his relationship with the metronome, which is an 19th century invention and patented by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, a German inventor, musician and designer of interesting inventions and projects in the world of show business, his first use in his works and the process of his musical partnerships with this inventor will be included.
Ludwig Van Beethoven ve Johann Nepomuk Mälzel’in Metronom Üzerinden İlişkisi
Tarih boyunca müzik, bestecilerin gerek müzikal gerek teknik olarak, farklı ve yeni fikirlerle ürettikleri eserlerle değişime uğramıştır. Kimi besteciler bir çağın sonu, kimi ise yeni bir çağın ve sanat akımının başlangıcı olmuşlardır. Bazı besteciler kendi yaşadıkları dönemde, müziğe yeni bir bakış açısı ve yenilikler getirerek kendisinden sonra gelen çağlara ilham kaynağı olmuşlardır. Ama hiç bir besteci, sonat, konçerto, oda müziği ve senfoni formunu Ludwig van Beethoven kadar, neredeyse ulaşılmaz olarak nitelenen düzeyde yukarı taşımamıştır. Klasik Dönem’den Romantik Dönem’e geçişte bir dönüm noktası olarak yerini alan bestecinin eserleri her iki döneme ait olarak incelenmektedir. Bu nedenle yaşadığı dönemde eserlerinde yaptığı cesurca yenilikler kabul görmüş, alkışlanmış ve itibar gören bir besteci olarak müzikte bir devrim yaratmıştır. Döneminin siyasal çalkantıları, halk ayaklanmaları ve savaşlar, Beethoven’in toplumsal konulara ve sorunlara çözüm odaklı ilgisi, tüm yazışmaları, söylemleri ve en önemlisi müziğinin içinde de yer buluyor.
Bu çalışmada yenilikçi ve dünyanın değişimine açık bir kişilik olan Ludwig van Beethoven’in, müziğinde yarattığı değişiklere ek olarak; bir 19. yüzyıl icadı olan ve patenti Alman mucit, müzisyen, gösteri dünyasında ilginç icatlarla projeler tasarlayan Johann Nepomuk Mälzel’e ait metronomla olan ilişkisi, eserlerinde ilk kullanımı ve bu mucitle olan müzikal ortaklıklarına ilişkin süreç yer alacaktır.
In the process of music from the earliest ages to the present day, we see many innovations and changes from note writing to the harmony system, from the change of instrument forms to the development of instrument playing techniques. Along with the changing civilization, art has become a mirror of all these developments and changes in proportion to the development of social consciousness and culture. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, from the Baroque Age to the Classical Age and until the 20th century, wars, political history, economic revolutions, popular uprisings, the industrial revolution, new inventions, developments in the world of medicine, these changes, along with the wars in the world, political history, economic revolutions, popular uprisings, the industrial revolution, new inventions, developments in the world of medicine, have created the need for renewal and opposing currents in science, philosophy, literature, music and all different disciplines of art. When we look at the entire history of humanity, the concepts and values that enable a society to live in a certain order weaken over time and need change and renewal. At this point, it becomes inevitable for societies to turn to new ideas and new pursuits. In the second half of the eighteenth century, we can see how this changed as a result of great and rapid changes. In the previous century, the understanding of art was completely dominated by the palace, but towards the end of the century, as a result of the movement in society, it is seen that it slowly but surely began to change. The transition of art from one class to another, the replacement of ornaments in painting and music with thought and expression is the beginning of a great change. This search for new ideas and new concepts is the harbinger of the “Age of Enlightenment”. Again, the popular uprising that erupted at the end of the century and started with the French Revolution is the beginning of a movement to spread a pioneering thought, with the realization that a person’s mind and thoughts should not be ruled by an authority other than himself. This is the desire to add value to one’s life with one’s intellect and cultural structure, the desire for a new beginning that emerged with a kind of enlightenment impulse, and a view completely opposed to the system of thinking and acting with the ideas of an authority. It is an effort to take art and the cultural values of society out of the confines of the palace and put them within the reach of the people, the middle class. The reason why we are talking about this great 19th century movement is that we will also talk about the innovations in music and works of Ludwig van Beethoven, who is considered an important musical revolutionary of this era. While talking about his works, especially without ignoring the political and social conditions of his time. Because the mastery of Beethoven’s works and the innovations he brought to music led to the emergence of a musical understanding beyond his time. In addition to introducing innovations to music as a form in his own time, the fact that he made a name for himself as a pianist with an advanced playing technique brought the symphony form, as composers call it, to an unattainable place in the generations that followed him. His serious interest in philosophy and literature, and his friendships with important poets and writers of his time enabled him to incorporate his own worldview into his music. For this reason, he was a musician who emphasized that morality and virtue, unity and solidarity are the most valuable concepts that humanity should possess, and drew attention to the richness of nature and love, thought and knowledge. In addition to the innovations he brought to some forms in music, the fact that he was open to innovations in other European countries, that he researched and took them into consideration, were among the main reasons that carried his compositional skills forward. The first reason why the German engineer and inventor Johann Nepomuk Mälzel and Ludwig van Beethoven, who was the owner of many inventions during his lifetime and also pursued other inventions and contributed greatly to their development, came together in all this mobility in Europe was a musical partnership. This partnership caused these two names not to meet for a long time as a result of a great controversy, but in the following years, when Beethoven was close to losing his hearing completely, he was reunited with the help of Mälzel. With this second meeting, we see a process of great importance in music history. If we divide this process into certain headings; we can examine how political changes and wars throughout the century were seen by an artist, how much they transferred them to their works, and the dynamics that inspired inventors like Mälzel and enabled them to transform their inventions into art. From the time when Mälzel and Beethoven came together due to a big concert and the accompanying performances, to the time when Beethoven decided to use metronome markings in his works definitively, to the time when Mälzel designed an invention that could have a small effect on the aural deprivation of this composer whom he respected greatly, and before that, the reasons why their professional relationship was shaken after a project in which these two important names took part together are the topics that will be gathered under the headings.
