Beethoven "Lite"

Los Angeles, California — You sit back and find yourself inside the dark softness of Beethoven’s studio, where his friend Gerhart von Breuning explains that this is Beethoven’s desk, this his coat… He begins to tell the story of his first meeting with what seemed to him a vagrant — a man talking to himself — and his shocking realization that this was the great composer his father revered. He dramatizes his growing friendship with Beethoven, the losing struggle with deafness, of Beethoven’s social isolation, and the sad ending for a brilliant man who gave the world so much.

As he tells the story of “Beethoven As I Knew Him,” he moves to the piano and pauses to play a Beethoven composition. At the conclusion, von Breuning comes forward, takes off his wig and casts off his accent, and we meet Hershey Felder, actor/pianist who conceived this diverting 90-minute presentation.

The music has been skillfully performed, but with only “familiar” choices. The story is moving yet feels a bit like a “digest” of what we know about Beethoven.

Entertaining…but you leave with questions. Have there been omissions in the story of Beethoven’s life which might have been dramatically challenging? The story of his nephew is touched briefly and you remember something about the conflict, and you are tempted to Google Beethoven to find out. The nephew was the center of a raging court battle — Beethoven demanding custody and the boy wanting to remain with his mother, so unhappy that he later attempts suicide. As to the “absolute deafness” center of the narrative, Google also suggests that this is a controversial issue, some claiming that although the deafness was devastating, Beethoven might still have been able to hear “something.”

Hershey Felder, actor and pianist, presents a pleasant and entertaining 90 minutes, well-received by the audience. But were there deeper dramatic possibilities in the tumultuous life of a man who left such a rich legacy to the world of music?

The Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90024

Beethoven As I Knew Him runs through September 28, 2008