Happy Birthday, Beethoven: Day Two

It's fitting that since Beethoven is the greatest artist in the history of Western civilization we get to celebrate his birthday twice. That's because there is a dispute, based on records and his baptism (usually done on day born back then in Germany).. Here's excerpt from terrific piece by a member of the Orion Quartet I just came across that puts it well:

Well, there it is -- music that is clearly one of the greatest achievements in western civilization....Unless we budget our time carefully when we rehearse Beethoven, we can easily spend three hours on a movement we have been working on for years. All-Beethoven concerts usually leave us utterly exhausted. We once played a very challenging program of the Schumann first Quartet, Hindemith third Quartet, and the extravagant Smetana Quartet. Afterwards, we all remarked how easy it was to get through compared to any all-Beethoven concert. One of my most important mentors, Sandor Vegh, said that performing and listening to Beethoven strengthens you. I understand this more and more as we continue to grapple with these works. Often, as I turn the pages of my score, my lazy bones groan at the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual hurdles Beethoven is about to put me through. My chances of arriving at the next page unscathed are slim. I would be safer at home flipping and sipping. Yet, somehow the music is so absorbing as I am compelled to follow it, that I don't realize how consuming it is until it is over. I suppose this shows the reason every quartet player wants to play the complete Beethoven Quartets. It is to us as Mt. Everest is to mountain climbers.