Beethoven — God or Monster?: Frank Lloyd Wright versus John Cage

val — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:36:26 +0000

More than a century after his death, Ludwig van Beethoven was still a powerful figure who could inspire or repel, depending on one’s artistic leanings. To architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Beethoven was a hero, one of the “greatest architects” he knew of. To composer John Cage, he was nothing more than “a roll of toilet paper.” Equally extreme in either direction, both Wright and Cage frequently used Beethoven to prove their own points, and neither one had a problem with twisting the real image of Beethoven into any shape that might help their cause.

Multimedia talk presented by Dr. David Patterson —- MAY 17, 2013 — 7:00 p.m.

David Patterson is a musicologist who has specialized for twenty years in American avant-garde music of the 1950s and 1960s. He is also in the midst of a new project on the impact of music on the thought and work of Frank Lloyd Wright. He has taught at the University of Maryland, the University of Illinois, and the University of Chicago. He’s also been a docent for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Foundation and currently gives tours for the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation.Valshalla_RSD_small_2013

Val's Halla Records

Beethoven — God or Monster?: Frank Lloyd Wright versus John Cage