Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
First broadcast from 20060306 to 20090212.
11 episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20080128 | 20090209, Rptdtoday8.45pm | Donald Macleod explores the extraordinary musical landscape of Beethoven's last 12 years - known to posterity as his late period. 1/5. He focuses on two ground-breaking sonatas, the first ever song-cycle and a couple of tiny canons, and also on the composer's personal life, the beginning of a long and acrimonious custody battle. Kurz ist der Schmerz, WoO 166 Brauchle, Linke, WoO 167 Members of the Kammerchor der Berliner Singakademie Sonata No 4 in C for piano and cello, Op 102 No 1 Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) Sviatoslav Richter (piano) An die ferne Geliebte, Op 98 Peter Schreier (tenor) Walter Olbertz (piano) Piano Sonata No 28 in A, Op 10 Wilhelm Kempff (piano) | |
| 01 | Bonn | 20060306 | Donald Macleod surveys Beethoven's formative years. At the Elector's court in Bonn, the old system of patronage had supported his grandfather, a bass singer who became Director of Music and his father, a tenor, before him. Beethoven became the third generation of musicians in his family to serve the Elector, but his desire for a measure of independence soon reared its head. Third Symphony (Eroica), First movement Berlin Philharmonic Herbert von Karajan (conductor) Piano Quintet in E flat, Op 16 Netherlands Wind Ensemble Peter Donohoe (piano) Sonata for piano, No 21 in C, Op 53 (Waldstein); 3rd movement: Rondo - Allegretto moderato Maurizio Pollini (piano). | |
| 02 | 20080129 | 20090210, Rptdtoday8.45pm | Including a seven-bar fugue for two violins, a miniature set of variations on a Scottish folksong and, at the other end of the scale, Beethoven's last, and some would say greatest, piano sonata. Chiling O'Guiry, No 5 (Six National Airs Varied, for piano with flute or violin, Op 105) Patrick Gallois (flute) Cecile Licad (piano) 11 New Bagatelles for piano, Op 119 Rudolf Buchbinder (piano) Duet for two violins, WoO 34 Lukas Hagen, Rainer Schmidt (violins) Bundeslied, Op 122 (Song of Fellowship) Ambrosian Singers London Symphony Orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor) Piano Sonata No 32 in C minor, Op 111 Maurizio Pollini (piano) | |
| 02 | Vienna | 20060307 | was a place of tantalising opportunity for Beethoven. In 1792, the year he left the court at Bonn to move to the Imperial capital, it was the leading musical city in Europe. Donald Macleod recounts how the young composer set about making a name for himself in Viennese society. No 1 in D - from 6 Ländler for 2 violins and bass Lukas Hagen, Rainer Schmidt (violin) Alois Posch (double bass) Rondo (Sonata for Piano and Horn, Op 17) Daniel Barenboim (piano) Myron Bloom (horn) Piano Concerto No 5 in E flat, Op 73 Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) Chamber Orchestra of Europe Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor) Che fa il mio bene? (L'amante impaziente I, Op 82, No 3) Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo soprano) Andreas Schiff (piano). | |
| 03 | 20080130 | 20090211, Rptdtoday8.45pm | Donald Macleod focuses on a single work, Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, and talks to pianist and music scholar Charles Rosen, who tells the story behind the piece. 33 Variations on a Waltz by A Diabelli, Op 120 Charles Rosen (piano) | |
| 03 | Heiligenstadt | 20060308 | Beethoven's life was a success. Acclaimed by the Viennese, by 1801 he was enjoying an especially prolific period musically. Yet correspondence to his friends makes it clear that he was also aware of his increasing deafness. It was a situation which drove him to a terrible spiritual crisis. After producing one of the most remarkable documents, in which he speaks not just to his friends but to humanity at large, remarkably Beethoven was able to recover and strike out along a new creative path. Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Op 43 Scottish Chamber Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor) Violin sonata in Cm, Op 30, No 2 Gideon Kremer (violin) Martha Argerich (piano) Abscheulicher and Prisoner's Chorus from Act 1 (Fidelio) Christa Ludwig (mezzo soprano) Ingeborg Hallstein (soprano) Kurt Wehofschitz (tenor) Raymond Wolansky (baritone) Gotlob Frick (bass) Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra Otto Klemperer (conductor). | |
| 04 | 20080131 | 20090212 | With Donald Macleod. Including movements from the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony, the two grand public utterances of Beethoven's last decade. The Ninth achieved iconic status almost immediately; the Mass, regarded by the composer as his greatest work, is considered to have been neglected. Also in the programme is Beethoven's last set of piano bagatelles, played on his own fortepiano - a gift from Thomas Broadwood of London. Falstafferel, WoO 184 Members of the Kammerchor der Berliner Singakademie and the Berliner Solisten Allegro vivace (Missa Solemnis in D) Eva Mei (soprano) Marjana Lipovsek (contralto) Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor) Robert Holl (bass) Arnold Schoenberg Choir Erwin Ortner (chorus master) Chamber Orchestra of Europe Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor) Six Bagatelles, Op 126 Melvyn Tan (fortepiano) Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125 (1st mvt) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Charles Mackerras (conductor). | |
| 04 | The Years Of Occupation | 20060309 | An offer of a post in Kassel resulted in a group of Beethoven's friends providing him with a lifetime annuity, as long as he remained in Vienna. Released from monetary privations, Beethoven's thoughts turned to matrimony. But after a short period of relative financial stability, the onset of war with the French and Napoleon's eventual invasion of Vienna turned the tables again, causing Beethoven considerable hardship. Aus Goethe's Faust, Op 75, No 3 Stephan Genz (baritone) Roger Vignoles (piano) Scherzo (allegro molto) Cello sonata in A, Op 69 Raphael Wallfisch (cello) John York (piano) Symphony No 8 Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich David Zinman (conductor) Piano Sonata No 31 in A flat, Op 110 Alfredo Perl (piano). | |
| 05 LAST | 20090212 | 20090213 | Donald Macleod considers Beethoven's final two years, which saw the creation of his late string quartets - the crowning achievements of the composer's life. The programme includes the last movement of Beethoven's last quartet, along with the canon that inspired it. And there is a complete performance of the Quartet in E flat, in a celebrated showcase by the Guarneri Quartet. Da ist das Werk, WoO 197 (1826) es muss sein, woo 196 (1826) string quartet no 16 in f, op 135 - 1826 (finale) ecossaise in e flat, woo 86; allegretto quasi andante in g minor, woo 61a; waltz in d, woo 85 Donald Macleod looks at beethoven's last two years, which brought his late string quartets string quartet no 12 in e flat, op 127 (1825) | |
| 05 LAST | 20080201 | Donald Macleod considers Beethoven's final two years, which saw the creation of his late string quartets, regarded as the crowning achievement of the composer's life. Da ist das Werk, WoO 197 Es muss sein, WoO 196 Members of the Kammerchor der Berliner Singakademie Finale (String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135) Takacs Quartet Ecossaise in E flat, WoO 86 Allegretto quasi andante in G minor, WoO 61a Waltz in D, WoO 85 Gianluca Cascioli (piano) String Quartet No 12 in E flat, Op 127 Guarneri Quartet. | ||
| 05 LAST | Final Statements | 20060310 | Donald Macleod considers the preoccupations which absorbed Beethoven during the last decade of his life. Despite acute bouts of ill health, these years elicited some of his largest scale and most deeply introspective music. Missa Solemnis (Kyrie) The Chamber Orchestra of Europe Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor) Third movement from String Quartet, Op 132, in Am Quartetto Italiano Presto - O Freunde, nicht diese Tone! - Allegro assai (Symphony No 9) Gundula Janowitz (soprano) Hilde Rössel-Majdan (contralto) Waldemar Kmentt (tenor) Walter Berry (bass) Wiener Singverein Berlin Philharmonic Herbert von Karajan (conductor). |