Classic stew at the Bowl: Beethoven meets Klimt, with a video twist

Schroeder in the comic strip Peanuts was inspired by him. So were the Beatles. It turns out Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was among the legions of people who dug Ludwig von Beethoven, a rock star in his day, too. So much so that Klimt painted a masterwork known as the Beethoven Frieze directly onto a wall during an exhibit in 1902. It was later captured and preserved.

You can see it on display at the Getty, along with the first retrospective ever of his drawings. And since that’s sure to get you in the Klimt mood, you can celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth on Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl. Since they can’t exactly transport the painting out to the Bowl, the Getty and the LA Phil have commissioned video by Herman Kolgen to go along with the Phil’s performance of Beethoven’s famous 9th Symphony. (You know Ode to Joy, even if you don’t know what it’s called; here’s a particularly stirring rendition to jog your memory.)

Here’s a sneak preview of what you’ll see and hear, and to read and listen to what Hunter Drohojowska-Philp has to say about this fusion of venerable LA institutions in the name of late great artists, check out the Art Talk page.

Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line on display at the Getty thru September 23rd