By: E&P Staff An exhibit called "Schulz's Beethoven: Schroeder's Muse" will run from Aug. 16 to Jan. 26 at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, Calif.
The museum said Schulz chose Beethoven as the Schroeder character's favorite composer because he felt "B" words were funnier -- though another "B" name (Brahms) was the cartoonist's favorite composer. It's possible that Schulz was remembering when, as a teen, he would sit on the porch of his friend Shermy's home and listen to Shermy's mother play Beethoven on her piano.
"Whatever the impetus," the museum continued, "Schulz painstakingly copied musical scores, note by note, for his now-famous Beethoven strips. The music was transcribed with such accuracy that musicians are able to play the pieces directly from the 'Peanuts' strips."
In the exhibit, visitors will be able to see Beethoven-themed strips while listening to the music Schulz transcribed into the panels. The show will also feature Schulz's reference books on classical music; personal letters he wrote about his appreciation of the genre; original Beethoven manuscripts, scores, and first editions; paintings and a bust of Beethoven; and a fortepiano of the kind that would've been used in the early 1800s.
The exhibit is being co-organized by Dr. Bill Meredith of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State University, and will move to that university's Martin Luther King, Jr. Library from May 1 to July 31, 2009.
"Peanuts" reruns are syndicated by United Media.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here