Symphony No. 9: A Joyous Epic

A fun, almost comical, moment before Beethoven stepped away from the symphony for a decade and wrote his ultimate triumph. 

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>More has been written about the meaning of Beethoven's 9th than any other symphony. There are more recordings of it, more performances of it, and more uses of its most famous theme, the Ode to Joy, than any other piece. But what is often talked about less than the political an ... Show More

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

<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

<p>The composer Carl Maria Von Weber called it the work of a madman. Clara Schumann's father, Friedrich Wieck, called it the work of a drunk. Beethoven's 7th has been popular ever since its premiere, but as you can see, not everyone loved it. It is a piece that has defied explana ... Show More

<p>Today begins a pretty massive project for Sticky Notes - a complete Beethoven cycle over the next few weeks! We start of course with Beethoven's 1st symphony. Some people tend to think of Beethoven's 1st as a cautious foray into the symphonic world, but I couldn't disagree mor ... Show More

In the first movement of his famous symphony, Beethoven sets up a battle between hope and despair. The dark side of that spectrum is represented by the anguished opening notes of the first movement: DUN DUN DUNNN. Over the course of the next three movements, Beethoven keeps tryin ... 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

Brahms spent much of his life battling with his ambition to write great symphonies and his terror at the spectre of Beethoven looming over him. His first symphony was a success, and with immense relief, Brahms quickly turned out a second symphony in just 4 months, a bit less than ... Show More

The eclectic composer joins members of the ACME ensemble for some of his most affecting music, which moves the audience to tears.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NP ... Show More