“Beethoven may be (happily) spinning in his grave,” writes David Patrick Stearns in Friday’s (11/21) Philadelphia Inquirer. “His symphonies are a surprise hit at City Fitness in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, where a classical music spin class set to his works is a consistent sellout on Sunday mornings. Every stationary bike saddle is occupied by 10:30 a.m. as instructor Steve Schatz sets his Symphonic Spin class off on a high-intensity, Beethoven-accompanied journey that he narrates…. ‘The vibe of the class is completely different to me than any other spin class I’ve been to,’ said Kristen Treegoob, 34…. ‘Given that it’s Beethoven and not T. Swift screaming at me, you can close your eyes and feel like you really are alone, climbing up the hills’ of bucolic locales…. Schatz has the class spinning to a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies in the coming weeks, one Sunday at a time…. Beyond the Beethoven cycle, his classical range is wide—and thoughtful…. The Brahms Symphony No. 4 is too austere, but his Symphony No. 3 is a keeper. In the final movement, Schatz imagines trying to reach home during a nighttime thunder storm, ending with ‘the sunshine and early morning dawn.’ ”
Posted November 25, 2019
