Five Kinds Of Beethoven

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Inua Ellams

20200921

Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence.

253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Five eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. We invited Inua Ellams, Sophie Stone, Thangam Debbonnaire, Professor Andrew Biswell and Nitin Sawhney to share their kind of Beethoven with radio 3 listeners. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work.

What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative.

Inua Ellams, poet and playwright

Inua has admired Beethoven since childhood and recently wrote a poem about his work. He says:

`I wanted to write about hip hop sampling classical music, loving Fur Elise when I was a kid, and how Beethoven / Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major Emperor helped me through a difficult breakup - which gave rise to the poem.`

Born in Nigeria in 1984, Inau Ellams is an internationally touring poet, playwright, performer, graphic artists and designer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and his published books of poetry include Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars, Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales, the Wire-Haired Heathen, #Afterhours and The Half-God of Rainfall - an epic story in verse. His first play The 14th Tale was awarded a fringe first at the Edinburgh International Festival, and his fourth, Barber Shop Chronicles, sold out two runs at England's National Theatre and toured the UK. His Three Sisters, set in Nigeria during the late 1960s Biafran succession, was a smash hit at England's National Theatre in 2019. He toured An Evening with an Immigrant and completed his first full poetry collection The Actual. In graphic art and design, online and in print, he tries to mix the old with the new, juxtaposing texture and pigment with flat shades of colour and vector images.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2023, he was honoured with an MBE for Services To The Arts, and an Honorary Doctorate from University Of The Arts, London.

Producer, Polly Thomas

Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3

Inua Ellams, poet and playwright, shares what Beethoven means to him.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Sophie Stone

20200922

20230904 (R3)

253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Our eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work.

What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative.

Sophie Stone - actor

Sophie is Deaf, and her interest in Beethoven has a very personal take on creativity - Sophie says:

` - People often talk and think of Beethoven as tormented' because his late and progressive Deafness changed his relationship with music. Losing it later in life teamed with the distance it put between him and his passion must have been an immense thing to come to terms with - but, as we know, his most accomplished works were created during the last fifteen years of his life whilst he was, by that point, profoundly deaf... he's an example of how self-acceptance and adapting to your new state of being can bring about a surprisingly joyful and beneficial relationship with the unknown -

Sophie's essay considers accessing music as a deaf person and how Beethoven worked with his deafness.

An animated transcript of the audio is available on the programme website, making the essay accessible for deaf and hard of hearing audience.

Sophie Stone grew up in East London and has been deaf since birth. She took up a place at RADA after the birth of her son Phoenix (to whom she is a single mother).

Since graduating, she has played the role of Kattrin in Mother Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre.

In Spring 2014 she played Agnetha in Bryony Lavery's play Frozen, opening at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

In Autumn 2014 she took the leading role in the touring production of Woman of Flowers, a reworking of the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd by playwright Kaite O'Reilly.

In 2015 she played the role of deaf crew-leader Cass in the Doctor Who episodes 'Under the Lake' and 'Before the Flood', who communicated entirely in British Sign Language. She played Princess Alice in The Crown.

In 2019, she was part of the critically acclaimed Globe Theatre/West End show, Emelia and played Jacques in the recent As You Like It production at The Globe and in 2021 played Rosie in the Jimmy McGovern TV series, 'Moving on'.

Producer, Polly Thomas

Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

Sophie Stone considers accessing music as a deaf person and what Beethoven means to her.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Nitin Sawhney

20200923

20230905 (R3)

What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative.

Nitin Sawhney, composer and musician - The origins, evolution and nature of Beethoven's genius

Nitin learnt to play Beethoven from an early age and is fascinated by the instinctive and spiritual nature of his genius, comparing it to others whose work blazed a trail in maths, science and visual arts.

Nitin Sawhney is one of the most distinctive and versatile musical voices around today, achieving an international reputation across every possible creative medium. In 2017 he received the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award, and is firmly established as a world-class producer, songwriter, DJ, multi instrumentalist, orchestral composer and cultural pioneer.

Nitin has been appointed Chair of Trustees for PRS Foundation, the UK's leading charitable funder of new music and talent development.

Sawhney has become a modern-day Renaissance man in the worlds of music, film, video games, dance and theatre.

His endless creative curiosity makes him a formidable polymath across the whole artistic range of media associated with the music industry.

With over 20 studio albums to his name, including solo albums, film soundtracks and compilations, he has received a substantial wealth of major national and international awards for the work.

In 2019, Nitin received a CBE in the New Year's Honours List and received the Outstanding Achievement in Music award at The Asian Awards.

Producer, Polly Thomas

Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

Nitin Sawhney on the origins, evolution and nature of Beethoven's genius.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Andrew Biswell

20200924

20230906 (R3)

What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative.

Professor Andrew Biswell explores the fascinating connection between Anthony Burgess and Beethoven, Burgess wrote several pieces inspired by Beethoven, including using Eroica as the framework for his epic novel and drama about Napoleon Symphony. The drama, Napoleon Rising, had its world premiere on Radio 3 in 2012. Burgess wrote an un produced screenplay about Beethoven's early life and in1991, delivered a speech on the composer's 9 symphonies on BBC Radio 3. His close artistic identification with the composer and fascination with his personality traits informed a great deal of his work.

Andrew Biswell is the biographer of Anthony Burgess and director of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, which he set up in 2003 at the behest of the author's late widow Liana. The IABF occupies the light-filled Engine House in Chorlton Mill, where it hosts a variety of events - readings, book launches, performances, discussions - as well as tours of the archive and usage of the reading room.

Andrew Biswell was made Professor of Modern Literature in the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University in June 2013 having previously held the positions of Lecturer, then Principal Lecturer, in English and Creative Writing, and Academic Director of the Manchester Writing School.

Producer, Polly Thomas

Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

Andrew Biswell explores the fascinating connection between Anthony Burgess and Beethoven.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Thangam Debbonaire

20200925

20230907 (R3)

253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Our eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework and sharing their kind of Beethoven with radio 3 listeners. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work.

What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative.

Thangam Debbonaire MP

Thangam plays with Parliamentary string quartet 'The Statutory Instruments' - they are currently learning Opus 18 No 1. Beethoven's A major cello sonata has particular emotional links, as Thangam and her mum play it as their party piece. She has loved the string quartets from a young age and grew to love the symphonies whilst she had cancer a few years back.

Thangam Debbonaire became the Member of Parliament for the Bristol West constituency in May 2015. She won the seat again in the December 2019 election with a vote of 47,028 - the highest of any constituency in the UK. Thangam started out as a professional cellist, but for the 25 years before she became an MP, her main focus was working locally, nationally and internationally to end domestic violence. She moved to Bristol to be Women's Aid's first ever National Children's Officer, setting up support projects in refuges across the UK for children. After diagnosis in June 2015, Thangam received treatment for breast cancer over the rest of 2015.

She was Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport between January 2016 and June 2016; and in October 2016 was appointed a Labour Whip - a role she held until early 2020.

From January to April 2020 Thangam was shadow minister for the Department for Exiting the European Union. She is now Labour MP for Bristol West and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.

Producer, Polly Thomas

Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

Thangam Debbonaire MP shares what Beethoven means to her.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Inua Ellams	20200921		Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence. 253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Five eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. We invited Inua Ellams, Sophie Stone, Thangam Debbonnaire, Professor Andrew Biswell and Nitin Sawhney to share their kind of Beethoven with radio 3 listeners. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work. What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative. Inua Ellams, poet and playwright Inua has admired Beethoven since childhood and recently wrote a poem about his work. He says: `I wanted to write about hip hop sampling classical music, loving Fur Elise when I was a kid, and how Beethoven / Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major Emperor helped me through a difficult breakup - which gave rise to the poem.` Born in Nigeria in 1984, Inau Ellams is an internationally touring poet, playwright, performer, graphic artists and designer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and his published books of poetry include Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars, Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales, the Wire-Haired Heathen, #Afterhours and The Half-God of Rainfall - an epic story in verse. His first play The 14th Tale was awarded a fringe first at the Edinburgh International Festival, and his fourth, Barber Shop Chronicles, sold out two runs at England's National Theatre and toured the UK. His Three Sisters, set in Nigeria during the late 1960s Biafran succession, was a smash hit at England's National Theatre in 2019. He toured An Evening with an Immigrant and completed his first full poetry collection The Actual. In graphic art and design, online and in print, he tries to mix the old with the new, juxtaposing texture and pigment with flat shades of colour and vector images. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2023, he was honoured with an MBE for Services To The Arts, and an Honorary Doctorate from University Of The Arts, London. Producer, Polly Thomas Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3 Inua Ellams, poet and playwright, shares what Beethoven means to him. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
02	Sophie Stone	20200922	20230904 (R3)	Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence. 253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Our eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work. What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative. Sophie Stone - actor Sophie is Deaf, and her interest in Beethoven has a very personal take on creativity - Sophie says: ` - People often talk and think of Beethoven as tormented' because his late and progressive Deafness changed his relationship with music. Losing it later in life teamed with the distance it put between him and his passion must have been an immense thing to come to terms with - but, as we know, his most accomplished works were created during the last fifteen years of his life whilst he was, by that point, profoundly deaf... he's an example of how self-acceptance and adapting to your new state of being can bring about a surprisingly joyful and beneficial relationship with the unknown - Sophie's essay considers accessing music as a deaf person and how Beethoven worked with his deafness. An animated transcript of the audio is available on the programme website, making the essay accessible for deaf and hard of hearing audience. Sophie Stone grew up in East London and has been deaf since birth. She took up a place at RADA after the birth of her son Phoenix (to whom she is a single mother). Since graduating, she has played the role of Kattrin in Mother Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre. In Spring 2014 she played Agnetha in Bryony Lavery's play Frozen, opening at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In Autumn 2014 she took the leading role in the touring production of Woman of Flowers, a reworking of the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd by playwright Kaite O'Reilly. In 2015 she played the role of deaf crew-leader Cass in the Doctor Who episodes 'Under the Lake' and 'Before the Flood', who communicated entirely in British Sign Language. She played Princess Alice in The Crown. In 2019, she was part of the critically acclaimed Globe Theatre/West End show, Emelia and played Jacques in the recent As You Like It production at The Globe and in 2021 played Rosie in the Jimmy McGovern TV series, 'Moving on'. Producer, Polly Thomas Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3. Sophie Stone considers accessing music as a deaf person and what Beethoven means to her. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
03	Nitin Sawhney	20200923	20230905 (R3)	Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence. 253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Our eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work. What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative. Nitin Sawhney, composer and musician - The origins, evolution and nature of Beethoven's genius Nitin learnt to play Beethoven from an early age and is fascinated by the instinctive and spiritual nature of his genius, comparing it to others whose work blazed a trail in maths, science and visual arts. Nitin Sawhney is one of the most distinctive and versatile musical voices around today, achieving an international reputation across every possible creative medium. In 2017 he received the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award, and is firmly established as a world-class producer, songwriter, DJ, multi instrumentalist, orchestral composer and cultural pioneer. Nitin has been appointed Chair of Trustees for PRS Foundation, the UK's leading charitable funder of new music and talent development. Sawhney has become a modern-day Renaissance man in the worlds of music, film, video games, dance and theatre. His endless creative curiosity makes him a formidable polymath across the whole artistic range of media associated with the music industry. With over 20 studio albums to his name, including solo albums, film soundtracks and compilations, he has received a substantial wealth of major national and international awards for the work. In 2019, Nitin received a CBE in the New Year's Honours List and received the Outstanding Achievement in Music award at The Asian Awards. Producer, Polly Thomas Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3. Nitin Sawhney on the origins, evolution and nature of Beethoven's genius. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
04	Andrew Biswell	20200924	20230906 (R3)	Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence. 253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Our eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work. What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative. Professor Andrew Biswell explores the fascinating connection between Anthony Burgess and Beethoven, Burgess wrote several pieces inspired by Beethoven, including using Eroica as the framework for his epic novel and drama about Napoleon Symphony. The drama, Napoleon Rising, had its world premiere on Radio 3 in 2012. Burgess wrote an un produced screenplay about Beethoven's early life and in1991, delivered a speech on the composer's 9 symphonies on BBC Radio 3. His close artistic identification with the composer and fascination with his personality traits informed a great deal of his work. Andrew Biswell is the biographer of Anthony Burgess and director of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, which he set up in 2003 at the behest of the author's late widow Liana. The IABF occupies the light-filled Engine House in Chorlton Mill, where it hosts a variety of events - readings, book launches, performances, discussions - as well as tours of the archive and usage of the reading room. Andrew Biswell was made Professor of Modern Literature in the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University in June 2013 having previously held the positions of Lecturer, then Principal Lecturer, in English and Creative Writing, and Academic Director of the Manchester Writing School. Producer, Polly Thomas Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3. Andrew Biswell explores the fascinating connection between Anthony Burgess and Beethoven. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
05	Thangam Debbonaire	20200925	20230907 (R3)	Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence. 253 years since Beethoven's birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Our eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework and sharing their kind of Beethoven with radio 3 listeners. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven's work. What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative. Thangam Debbonaire MP Thangam plays with Parliamentary string quartet 'The Statutory Instruments' - they are currently learning Opus 18 No 1. Beethoven's A major cello sonata has particular emotional links, as Thangam and her mum play it as their party piece. She has loved the string quartets from a young age and grew to love the symphonies whilst she had cancer a few years back. Thangam Debbonaire became the Member of Parliament for the Bristol West constituency in May 2015. She won the seat again in the December 2019 election with a vote of 47,028 - the highest of any constituency in the UK. Thangam started out as a professional cellist, but for the 25 years before she became an MP, her main focus was working locally, nationally and internationally to end domestic violence. She moved to Bristol to be Women's Aid's first ever National Children's Officer, setting up support projects in refuges across the UK for children. After diagnosis in June 2015, Thangam received treatment for breast cancer over the rest of 2015. She was Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport between January 2016 and June 2016; and in October 2016 was appointed a Labour Whip - a role she held until early 2020. From January to April 2020 Thangam was shadow minister for the Department for Exiting the European Union. She is now Labour MP for Bristol West and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. Producer, Polly Thomas Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3. Thangam Debbonaire MP shares what Beethoven means to her. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.