Beethoven's Op. 131 is an astounding work, to say the least. It's full of depth, musical craft, and poetic nuance. Performing the work feels like going on an incredible journey (as does listening to it!). The making of our newest album, 131, also felt like a journey: navigating distance; searching for a sound; and Gio joining Beo!
The photo used for the cover of the album, created by Sean.
131 was the first recording project we embarked on in our new studio. While incredibly exciting, the challenge early on lived in the non-familiarity of the sound. It was a fantastic sound—clean, open but not too wet, balanced—but, every day in the space revealed yet another side of a seemingly infinite sonic personality. Every inch change in mic placement unveiled a new dimension of sound! We ultimately settled on a very close, intimate sound. I'm excited to explore this more with subsequent albums.
Time. Distance. Oof. Gio started playing with Beo during the fall of 2021—some concerts here and there. In January 2022 he officially joined. We started recording Beethoven's masterpiece on January 3! We had performed the work a handful of times throughout the fall—with Gio—but we used studio time to finesse our collective understanding and interpretation of the work. This is not typical, but was a really moving experience. Gio, at this point still living in Colorado, flew back to Pittsburgh in March to track Missy's wonderful work. And we recorded 19|20 during the last week of May (2022). The spacing of tracking, and the intervals apart in between, allowed for real reflection on what was being recorded. This reflection was valuable while editing the album.
Ludwig, Missy, and Sean rolled into one.
The blessing and curse of having our studio is that the amount of time, or takes, we allow ourselves is determined...by us... At the start of this project, none of us were unfamiliar with the process of recording. Typically, we would allow three, maybe four, passes of a movement or section and then move on. For this album we struck down this approach. We tracked as many takes as we could muster. These takes weren't arbitrary. And they weren't to “get it right”. (While editing I'd have ten—sometimes double that!—takes that all sounded great, pardon my lack of modesty.) Our approach was to use the available studio time to craft a very specific sound and interpretation. Painstakingly, sometimes. This process continued into the editing. Though sometimes making me crabby—sorry guys...—this process allowed the album to truly be a collective creation.
131 is the second classical concept album that we've released. In quartet rehearsal we try to fully understand and execute a musical idea before passing judgment on effectiveness. I think we're still in the “executing” phase of the classical concept albums. I'm not sure if they are effective. This is hard to gauge with only two albums. (maybe you disagree!?) I'm still enamored with the idea that an album can offer a specific journey only to be had by the collection of presented works on that album. Beethoven's Op. 131 is a journey unto itself. But hearing it following two other, carefully chosen works changes the context. It's this change of context that can break down the unwarranted boundaries of genre or era. It's this change of context that can connect us, today, with our ancestors. Maybe it can help tow the threads of humanity so often lost in digital and political consumption. We'll be in the studio all of April testing this once again.
-Sean