Beethoven Unleashed - In Perspective

Series

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

2020

Beethoven The Man

20201214

Donald Macleod embarks on the final week of his year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, selecting his personal highlights of conversations he's had with special guests over the course of 25 series - beginning today by revealing the insights he's gained about Beethoven, the man.

Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today.

In the first programme of the final series this year on Beethoven, Donald looks back at what he learnt about Beethoven the Man. In conversation with Simon Schama and Marin Alsop, Aakanksha Virkar Yates, Erica Buurman, Jan Swafford, and Jonathan Biss, Donald discovered what the composer was like as a human being, from his interest in religion, to his constant loneliness, and the struggles he had communicating with those around him.

Composer of the Week has been returning to the story of Beethoven's life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

Mass in C, Op 86 - Sanctus

Collegium Musicum 90

Collegium Musicum 90 Chorus

Richard Hickox, conductor

Piano Concerto No 4 in G, Op 58 - Andante con moto & Rondo vivace

Paul Lewis, piano

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Ji?퀀 B?lohlကvek, conductor

Violin Sonata No 5 in F, Op 24 (Spring) - 4th movement: Rondo

Renaud Capu瀀on, violin

Frank Braley, piano

Piano Sonata No 27, Op 90

Jonathan Biss, piano

Donald Macleod introduces personal highlights from his year-long celebration of Beethoven.

2020

Beethoven The Composer

20201215

Donald Macleod selects highlights from a year of programmes celebrating 250 years since Beethoven's birth, looking today at how he went about composing.

Donald Macleod revisits conversations he's had over the course of this year's special programmes on Beethoven, focussing today on the insights he gained about how Beethoven went about the process of composition. At the beginning of this year Donald was joined by Erica Buurman in the Beethovenhaus in Bonn - the house where he was born, to discover possessions like his walking stick - taking a stroll was essential in mulling over musical ideas. Together with Chi-chi Nwanoku, Jonathan Biss, Simon Schama and Marin Alsop, Donald considers some of the hallmarks of Beethoven's style and to what extent he was a revolutionary.

Maigesang, Op 52 no 4

Ian Bostridge, tenor

Antonio Pappano, piano

Piano Sonata No 4 in E flat, Op 7 - 2nd movement: Largo, com gran espressione

Jonathan Biss, piano

Violin Concerto in D, Op 61 - 1st movement

Christian Tetzlaff, violin

Deutsche Symphonie Orchestra, Berlin

Robin Ticciati, conductor

String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 - 4th movement: Grave, ma non troppo tratto

Brodsky Quartet

Donald Macleod and guests consider Beethoven's boundary-pushing compositional process.

2020

Bringing Beethoven To Life

20201216

Donald Macleod selects highlights of conversations he's had with performers over the course of this year's 125 editions of Composer of the Week devoted to Beethoven, about how they bring the composer's music to life.

Donald Macleod selects his personal highlights of conversations he's had with performers over the course of this year, about how they bring Beethoven's music to life. From the choices they make about the type of instruments to play, to their interpretation of the spiritual dimension of some of his music, Ronald Brautigam, Rachel Nicholls, Chi-chi Nwanoku, Edward Dusinberre and Angela Hewitt reveal how they approach the composer's notes on the page.

Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37 - 2nd movement: Largo

Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano

Kolner Akademie

Michael Alexander Willens, conductor

Fidelio

Act 2 Nr 14 Quartet : Er sterbe! & Recit.

Act 2 Nr 15 Duet : O namenlose Freude!

Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Don Pizarro), bass-baritone

Jessye Norman (Leonore), soprano

Reiner Goldberg (Florestan), tenor

Kurt Moll (Rocco), bass

Chor der Staatsoper Dresden

Staatskapelle Dresden

Bernard Haitink, conductor

String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 - 3rd movement: Lento assai, cantate e tranquillo

Takကcs Quartet

Sonata No 26 in E flat, Op 81A (Les adieux) - The Absence & The Reunion

Angela Hewitt, piano

More highlights from a year of programmes celebrating 250 years since Beethoven's birth.

2020

Beethoven's World

20201217

Donald Macleod explores the world Beethoven lived in, bringing together the best bits of interviews featured throughout Composer of the Week's major focus on Beethoven on the 250th anniversary of his birth.

In Donald Macleod's penultimate programme on Beethoven this year, he revisits highlights from conversations he's had with guests about the ideas that framed Beethoven's world: a world riven by war, conflict and revolution, during a time of far-reaching and profound social change.

Composer of the Week has been returning to the story of Beethoven's life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

Wind Octet in E flat, Op 103 - 1st movement: Allegro and 2nd movement: Andante

Sabine Meyer Bl䀀serensemble

Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur, Op 48 No 4 (The Heavens are Telling)

Norman Luboff Choir

New Symphony Orchestra of London

Leopold Stokowski, conductor

Symphony No 3 in E flat, Op 55 (Eroica) - 2nd movement: Marcia funebre. Adagio assai)

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 in C minor - 4th movement: Prestissimo

Sitkovetsky Trio

Highlights from this year's focus on Beethoven looking at the world the composer lived in.

2020

05 LAST

Beethoven Today

20201218

Donald Macleod concludes his year-long journey into Beethoven's life and music, selecting highlights from conversations with leading musicians, biographers and historians on the subject of what the composer means to us today

In this last programme of Composer of the Week's major celebration of Beethoven, Donald Macleod brings together personal highlights from interviews he carried out over the course of the year with leading musicians, biographers and historians. Exploring what Beethoven means to us today, among his guests are Simon Schama, Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, who reflect on the composer's continuing relevance 250 years after his birth, and what he might mean to us in the future.

Composer of the Week has been returning to the story of Beethoven's life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

Bagatelles, Op 33 No 2 in C (Scherzo allegro)

John Lill, piano

Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 in C minor - 1st movement: Allegro con brio & 2nd movement: Menuetto)

Beaux Arts Trio

Symphony No 4 in B flat, OP 60 - 4th movement: Allegro ma non troppo

Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique

John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

Fidelio Act 1 - Finale

Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Don Pizarro), baritone

Jessye Norman (Leonore), soprano

Reiner Goldberg (Florestan), tenor

Kurt Moll (Rocco), bass

Pamela Coburn (Marzelline), soprano

Hans Peter Blochwitz (Jaquino), tenor

Wolfgang Millgramm (First Prisoner), tenor

Egbert Junghanns (Second Prisoner), bass

Chor der Staatsoper Dresden

Staatskapelle Dresden

Bernard Haitink, conductor

Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales

Donald Macleod concludes his year-long focus on Beethoven with a selection of highlights.

Episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
2020	01	Beethoven The Man	20201214	Donald Macleod embarks on the final week of his year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, selecting his personal highlights of conversations he's had with special guests over the course of 25 series - beginning today by revealing the insights he's gained about Beethoven, the man. Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today. In the first programme of the final series this year on Beethoven, Donald looks back at what he learnt about Beethoven the Man. In conversation with Simon Schama and Marin Alsop, Aakanksha Virkar Yates, Erica Buurman, Jan Swafford, and Jonathan Biss, Donald discovered what the composer was like as a human being, from his interest in religion, to his constant loneliness, and the struggles he had communicating with those around him. Composer of the Week has been returning to the story of Beethoven's life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Mass in C, Op 86 - Sanctus Collegium Musicum 90 Collegium Musicum 90 Chorus Richard Hickox, conductor Piano Concerto No 4 in G, Op 58 - Andante con moto & Rondo vivace Paul Lewis, piano BBC Symphony Orchestra Ji?퀀 B?lohlကvek, conductor Violin Sonata No 5 in F, Op 24 (Spring) - 4th movement: Rondo Renaud Capu瀀on, violin Frank Braley, piano Piano Sonata No 27, Op 90 Jonathan Biss, piano Donald Macleod introduces personal highlights from his year-long celebration of Beethoven.
2020	02	Beethoven The Composer	20201215	Donald Macleod selects highlights from a year of programmes celebrating 250 years since Beethoven's birth, looking today at how he went about composing. Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today. Donald Macleod revisits conversations he's had over the course of this year's special programmes on Beethoven, focussing today on the insights he gained about how Beethoven went about the process of composition. At the beginning of this year Donald was joined by Erica Buurman in the Beethovenhaus in Bonn - the house where he was born, to discover possessions like his walking stick - taking a stroll was essential in mulling over musical ideas. Together with Chi-chi Nwanoku, Jonathan Biss, Simon Schama and Marin Alsop, Donald considers some of the hallmarks of Beethoven's style and to what extent he was a revolutionary. Maigesang, Op 52 no 4 Ian Bostridge, tenor Antonio Pappano, piano Piano Sonata No 4 in E flat, Op 7 - 2nd movement: Largo, com gran espressione Jonathan Biss, piano Violin Concerto in D, Op 61 - 1st movement Christian Tetzlaff, violin Deutsche Symphonie Orchestra, Berlin Robin Ticciati, conductor String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 - 4th movement: Grave, ma non troppo tratto Brodsky Quartet Donald Macleod and guests consider Beethoven's boundary-pushing compositional process.
2020	03	Bringing Beethoven To Life	20201216	Donald Macleod selects highlights of conversations he's had with performers over the course of this year's 125 editions of Composer of the Week devoted to Beethoven, about how they bring the composer's music to life. Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today. Donald Macleod selects his personal highlights of conversations he's had with performers over the course of this year, about how they bring Beethoven's music to life. From the choices they make about the type of instruments to play, to their interpretation of the spiritual dimension of some of his music, Ronald Brautigam, Rachel Nicholls, Chi-chi Nwanoku, Edward Dusinberre and Angela Hewitt reveal how they approach the composer's notes on the page. Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37 - 2nd movement: Largo Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano Kolner Akademie Michael Alexander Willens, conductor Fidelio Act 2 Nr 14 Quartet : Er sterbe! & Recit. Act 2 Nr 15 Duet : O namenlose Freude! Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Don Pizarro), bass-baritone Jessye Norman (Leonore), soprano Reiner Goldberg (Florestan), tenor Kurt Moll (Rocco), bass Chor der Staatsoper Dresden Staatskapelle Dresden Bernard Haitink, conductor String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 - 3rd movement: Lento assai, cantate e tranquillo Takကcs Quartet Sonata No 26 in E flat, Op 81A (Les adieux) - The Absence & The Reunion Angela Hewitt, piano More highlights from a year of programmes celebrating 250 years since Beethoven's birth.
2020	04	Beethoven's World	20201217	Donald Macleod explores the world Beethoven lived in, bringing together the best bits of interviews featured throughout Composer of the Week's major focus on Beethoven on the 250th anniversary of his birth. Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today. In Donald Macleod's penultimate programme on Beethoven this year, he revisits highlights from conversations he's had with guests about the ideas that framed Beethoven's world: a world riven by war, conflict and revolution, during a time of far-reaching and profound social change. Composer of the Week has been returning to the story of Beethoven's life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Wind Octet in E flat, Op 103 - 1st movement: Allegro and 2nd movement: Andante Sabine Meyer Bl䀀serensemble Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur, Op 48 No 4 (The Heavens are Telling) Norman Luboff Choir New Symphony Orchestra of London Leopold Stokowski, conductor Symphony No 3 in E flat, Op 55 (Eroica) - 2nd movement: Marcia funebre. Adagio assai) Gewandhausorchester Leipzig Riccardo Chailly, conductor Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 in C minor - 4th movement: Prestissimo Sitkovetsky Trio Highlights from this year's focus on Beethoven looking at the world the composer lived in.
2020	05 LAST	Beethoven Today	20201218	Donald Macleod concludes his year-long journey into Beethoven's life and music, selecting highlights from conversations with leading musicians, biographers and historians on the subject of what the composer means to us today Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today. In this last programme of Composer of the Week's major celebration of Beethoven, Donald Macleod brings together personal highlights from interviews he carried out over the course of the year with leading musicians, biographers and historians. Exploring what Beethoven means to us today, among his guests are Simon Schama, Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, who reflect on the composer's continuing relevance 250 years after his birth, and what he might mean to us in the future. Composer of the Week has been returning to the story of Beethoven's life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3's Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Bagatelles, Op 33 No 2 in C (Scherzo allegro) John Lill, piano Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 in C minor - 1st movement: Allegro con brio & 2nd movement: Menuetto) Beaux Arts Trio Symphony No 4 in B flat, OP 60 - 4th movement: Allegro ma non troppo Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Fidelio Act 1 - Finale Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Don Pizarro), baritone Jessye Norman (Leonore), soprano Reiner Goldberg (Florestan), tenor Kurt Moll (Rocco), bass Pamela Coburn (Marzelline), soprano Hans Peter Blochwitz (Jaquino), tenor Wolfgang Millgramm (First Prisoner), tenor Egbert Junghanns (Second Prisoner), bass Chor der Staatsoper Dresden Staatskapelle Dresden Bernard Haitink, conductor Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales Donald Macleod concludes his year-long focus on Beethoven with a selection of highlights.