Symphony No. 8: A Musical Look Back

Its power and sheer ambition influenced and intimidated scores of composers who followed Beethoven. 

Ludwig van Beethoven's Seventh Symphony pulses with rhythmic invention. The reliance on the beat gives the piece an immediacy that rivals the music in any of Beethoven's symphonies. 

Ludwig van Beethoven followed his percussive, brooding Fifth Symphony with an ode to nature. Yet Symphony No. 6 is more than just a summer stroll. 

<p>Beethoven often gets the reputation of being a composer of extreme seriousness, shaking his fist at the heavens while dealing with a litany of medical ailments and heartbreak, and there is some truth to that as well. But the 4th symphony, a very strange and mysterious introduc ... Show More

In 1812, Beethoven's life was in ruins. He was embroiled in court battles, pining away for his "Immortal Beloved," and profoundly depressed. His musical response is one of his funniest, most charming, and most "classical" symphonies - the 8th. This is an underappreciated work tha ... Show More

We continue the Beethoven cycle this week with his underrated 2nd symphony. Written at the height of Beethoven's despair over his increasing deafness, you might think that the symphony would be a dark and stormy one, but instead Beethoven writes one of his most relentlessly cheer ... Show More

This week we're diving into one of the great movements ever written in Western Music with the slow movement of Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet. This is a movement that explores Beethoven's contradictory religious beliefs, his core optimism despite all that happened to him during his ... Show More

Taking a break from success. 

The insightful pianist offers a Beethoven bonanza, ranging from the mesmerizing pulse of the popular "Moonlight" Sonata to flashes of wry humor and tender beauty.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your p ... Show More

Beethoven's last major piano work, the Six Bagatelles Op 126 in a 1937 performance by Artur Schnabel. 

Two of the most famous chords in classical music propel us into this revolutionary, wild, and remarkable symphony. At the time, the Eroica symphony was the longest symphony ever written. At the time it was definitely the loudest symphony ever written! It delved into emotions that ... Show More

When the urge to compose finally struck again, Rachmaninoff took a little theme by Nicolo Paganini and turned it into a tour de force for the piano and orchestra, called Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. In this final episode of the Great Composers series on Rachmaninoff, we also ... Show More