The Genius of Beethoven
The Genius of Beethoven is a three-part BBC dramatized documentary series presented by Charles Hazlewood, taking a look at the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven. The first episode "The Rebel" looks at Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and 2nd Symphony, and charts his turbulent early years as a pianist and composer in Vienna, after having rejected his abusive alcoholic father. In the second episode "Love and Loss", the music of Beethoven's creative middle years is explored, alongside the dramatised recollections of his family and friends. In this period he wrote five symphonies, four concertos, and his only opera - Fidelio. And the third and final episode "Faith and Fury" shows Beethoven again revolutionises musical composition with works such as the Hammerklavier Sonata, the Missa Solemnis, the 9th Symphony and the baffling late string quartets - all composed when he was profoundly deaf.
| Episode 1 - The Rebel |
Episode 1 - The Rebel
This episode looks at Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and 2nd Symphony, and charts his turbulent early years as a pianist and composer in Vienna, after having rejected his abusive alcoholic father.
Episode 2 - Love and Loss
The music of Beethoven's creative middle years is explored, alongside the dramatised recollections of his family and friends. In this period he wrote five symphonies, four concertos, and his only opera - Fidelio.
Episode 3 - Faith and Fury
Beethoven again revolutionises musical composition with works such as the Hammerklavier Sonata, the Missa Solemnis, the 9th Symphony and the baffling late string quartets - all composed when he was profoundly deaf.
| Related Links |
| Ludwig van Beethoven - wikipedia Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. |
| In Search of Beethoven This is a film written and directed by Phil Grabsky, telling the story of Beethoven's life and his musical output. |
| Being Beethoven This is a documentary series that tells the life story of Beethoven in the context of the composer's own time and place, revealing a life following a very different trajectory to his art. |
| The Great Composers - Beethoven For many people, musicians and laymen alike, Beethoven is the most admired composer in the history of Western classical music - not only because of the intellectual rigour of his music, but also its expressive power. |
| Mark Steel Lectures - Ludwig van Beethoven Mark Steel sets Beethoven in his revolutionary context and reveals the quirks of his character the history books gloss over. |
| The Secret of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony This is a BBC documentary hosted by Ian Hislop and John Eliot Gardiner, revealing the story behind Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. |
| Eroica (2003 film) This is a BBC television film that dramatises the first performance of Beethoven's third symphony, the Eroica. Directed by Simon Cellan Jones, it stars Ian Hart, Tim Pigott-Smith, Anton Lesser and Frank Finlay. |
| e-Books |
| Beethoven Author: Frederick J. Crowest. Subject: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Publisher: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London. Language: English. Book contributor: Music - University of Toronto. |
| The life of Beethoven Author: Anton Schindler; edited by Ignaz Moscheles. Subject: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Publisher: Oliver Ditson Company, Boston. Book contributor: Music - University of Toronto. |