YIVO Joins Carnegie Hall in Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Beethoven's Birth

by ALEX WEISER

Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth Carnegie Hall is holding a festival from January-June 2020 including performances of all of his Symphonies, Piano Sonatas, and String Quartets. YIVO is one of ten partner organizations around New York City that Carnegie Hall invited to join their festival by hosting events of their own.

This invitation gave us at YIVO a wonderful opportunity to explore the Beethoven-related materials in our own collections. We have Yiddish translations and adaptations of Ode to Joy and other vocal works. We have beautifully illustrated Yiddish children’s books about Beethoven. We have Yiddish poetry about Beethoven. We have novels, travelogues, newspaper stories, even academic books about Beethoven – in Yiddish.

Beethoven also wrote works that took inspiration from Jewish sources. His song cycle An Die Ferne Geliebte sets to music poetry by German-Jewish poet Alois Isidor Jeitteles. Many also argue that Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 131 uses a melodic motif from a traditional Kol Nidre recitation melody.

Join us on April 20 for an evening celebrating Beethoven in the Yiddish imagination including performances of these works, a bilingual reading of a Yiddish story about the Moonlight Sonata, and, of course, Ode to Joy in Yiddish translation. Performances feature Allen Lewis Rickman, Yelena Shmulenson, Mario Diaz-Moresco, Spencer Myer, and the Ulysses Quartet.

Alex Weiser is YIVO’s Director of Public Programs.

Register for Beethoven and the Yiddish Imagination, taking place Monday, April 20, 2020 at 7:00pm.