In celebration of Beethoven's 250th birth anniversary, Deezer has launched an original and platform-exclusive classical music album - with 12 modern pianists recomposing the German composer's masterpieces.
With the "Beethoven Recomposed" playlist, the global music streaming service collected a set of 24 tracks - a mix of original and new creations - that celebrate some of Ludwig van Beethoven's most memorable works. The set, which includes reimaginings of classics such as "Für Elise" and "Moonlight Sonata No. 14," is available on the dedicated Deezer "Beethoven Channel."
Additionally, Deezer HiFi subscribers can enjoy the "Beethoven Recomposed" album in high definition. New subscribers can also enjoy this top-notch listening experience as Deezer currently offers three months of free HiFi plans before paid subscriptions.
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A New Generation of Pianists Play Beethoven
World-famous pianists, including Chilly Gonzales, Sofiane Pamart, and Chloe Flower, are musical stars to pay tribute to Beethoven in the new Deezer album.
French piano virtuoso Sofiane Pamart, one of the top streamed classical artists of 2020 on the streaming platform, breathes new life to the Beethoven classical "Piano Sonata No. 14 - Moonlight." The Paris-based artist, known to the public for "breaking the elitist codes of classical piano," weaves a new melody that still builds on the harmonies and chords Beethoven used in the original 1801 composition.
Meanwhile, classical crossover icon Chloe Flower - who garnered mainstream attention following her 2019 GRAMMY performance with Cardi B - will be putting her own spin on the "Piano Concerto No. 5: Emperor - Adagio," which was Beethoven's last completed piano concerto. The widely-covered piece gets a revitalized "popsical" style, giving the original classic a more romantic, lyrical appeal.
Grammy award-winning classical pianist Chilly Gonzales has stripped away the original bass notes in the Beethoven composition "Piano Sonata No. 15 - Pastorale: II. Andante."
"When I first heard this Beethoven Sonata, I thought it sounds really modern - the left hand is like a sequence," Gonzales tells Deezer about his feels and take on the classical piece, adding how one could "almost imagine" the classic being a "slowed-down techno song, like an 80s synthesizer bass line." He adds that when he sat down to play the piece, he felt that the bass notes were "getting in my way." Focusing on the melody, he removed the bass he felt signified the composition's modern-pop element.
"I thought that would become more of a challenge, to essentially take away the rhythm that's so famous in this movement, and see what I can do with the melody as if it was a jazz ballad."
About Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven was a German composer and pianist who was baptized in December 1770, making December 2020 his 250th birth anniversary. As a trailblazer in music history, his works trace the transition between the classical period, characterized by formality, poise, and balance, to the romantic period, which places significant focus on evoking emotions and creating impact.
Born in Bonn's German city, he moved to Vienna at the age of 21, where he soon received offers from noblemen of the time, receiving commission requests from Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky of the Austrian court.
His extensive and lifelong work covers about 722 compositions from his earliest works as a twelve-year-old child in Bonn until his last work shortly before he died in Vienna in 1827.
Listen to Beethoven Recomposed, on Deezer, below:
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