When it came time to introduce Beethoven’s “Ich liebe dich” (“I love you”) I decided to preface the performance by saying something about how a figure as stormy as Beethoven surely would have something very turbulent to say about love. But then …. violinist Ann Heide began playing what can only be described as an incredibly sweet and tender melody – nothing like what we typically think of with Beethoven’s music. I went on to say that this exquisite poem must have touched a very deep place in Beethoven’s soul. What sort of difference might it have made in his life had he been blessed with the presence of a loving, faithful life partner, the kind described so tellingly in Hoffmann von Fallersteben’s poem?
translation: I love you as you love me, in the evening and morning.
Nor was there a day when you and I did not share our troubles.
And when we shared them, they became easier to bear.
You comforted me in my distress, and I wept in your laments.
Therefore, may God’s blessings be upon you, my life’s joy.
God protect you and keep you for me, and protect and keep us both.