Beethoven: Great Composers in Words and Music (CD)

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Narrator: Leighton Pugh
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Naxos
Release Date: May 13, 2022

When we think of Ludwig van Beethoven, images of a stormy and passionate but tortured genius are brought to mind, alongside the transformative effect of his work on musical history. But no artist lives in a vacuum, and even music that opens a portal onto “the infinite realm of the spirit” has its wider context. 

Illustrated with music from each period, this enlightening life history tells us about Beethoven’s place in society, from his earlier career as a fine pianist, to his life on the edge of the Napoleonic war, his professional triumphs and many romantic misfortunes, and his famous defiance of deafness and declaration that he would “seize Fate by the throat.” 

Musical excerpts include the “Pathétique” and “Moonlight” Sonatas, “Diabelli” Variations, Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 9, “Emperor” Concerto, Missa solemnis, and the opera Fidelio, among many others.

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