Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the most prolific and celebrated composers of the Classical and Romantic eras. We are collecting music, coverage and news about Beethoven from around Classical MPR and our affiliated programs. Have a look (and listen) and enjoy.

Beethoven's Life and Work

Stories about Beethoven, and the music he created.

  • Beethoven - Symphonies No. 4 & 7New Classical Tracks: Prepare for Goose Bumps
    Violinist Joshua Bell, who is now also conductor Joshua Bell, talks about his new recording and the excitement of Beethoven's symphonies.March 5, 2013
  • Variations: Haydn, Beethoven, SchumannNew Classical Tracks: Piano Variations
    According to Emanuel Ax, writing variations on a theme is a way for composers to show off what they can do. On his new disc, he lets us hear how Haydn, Beethoven, and Robert Schumann flex their muscles.January 29, 2013
  • Beethoven working on the Missa SolemnisOn Beethoven's Birthday, The Three Periods
    It was not long after Beethoven's death that people began to talk about "three periods" in his music. Despite the obvious simplifications involved, this division continues to be used and discussed today.December 16, 2012
  • New Classical Tracks - Not Your Usual Elevator Music
    A chance encounter leads pianist Leif Ove Andsnes to undertake a multi-year musical journey.October 2, 2012
  • New Classical Tracks - Buchbinder's Beethoven
    For renowned pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, performing live in front of an audience gives a musical energy which can't be obtained any other way.September 18, 2012
  • New Classical Tracks - Beethoven for All
    This summer Daniel Barenboim has been conducting his first Beethoven symphony cycle in London. He's the first conductor since Henry Wood in 1942 to direct all nine symphonies in a single BBC Proms season. That orchestra has also recorded the nine symphonies, which have just been released as a box set.July 24, 2012
  • Morning Glories - Barenboim's Beethoven
    All this week, our 10 a.m. morning glories will come from a brand-new box set of the complete Beethoven symphonies by Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. All of this comes as the Orchestra is performing the Beethoven symphonies at the Proms (available on the Proms stream.July 23, 2012
  • Learning to Listen: The Minuet
    Our Learning to Listen series takes a closer look at classical music, aiming to help you understand what you're hearing on Classical MPR. This lesson is about the minuet.June 29, 2012
  • Vote for Your Favorite Beethoven String Quartets
    The Leipzig String Quartet is asking for you to help them choose which three of Beethoven's String Quartets to perform at the Minnesota Beethoven Festival.June 26, 2012
  • Ripe But Not Sweet - An Essay by Bill Morelock
    There have been countless meditations on the meaning of Shakespeare's "Ripeness is all." It was a Rorschach centuries before Rorschach. Often it suggests a serenity available, though not always secured, late in one's life. Ludwig van Beethoven was defiantly human, a spiny fruit, and stubbornly refused to sweeten as he matured.January 30, 2012

Beethoven and You

We're collecting stories about Ludwig's life or music on listeners of Classical MPR. What's your Beethoven story?

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The Music

The Beethoven You Probably Know The Beethoven You Probably Know

For whatever reason, some classical pieces seem to have emerged as the common works of which everyone knows and thinks when classical music is mentioned.


Soothing Beethoven Playlist Soothing Beethoven Playlist

Whilst most of Beethoven's famous output seems to be furious and impassioned, he has many works which are intimate and tender. This playlist offers some examples.


Complete Works of Beethoven

Complete Works of Beethoven

Beethoven in the news

Coverage of Beethoven from the Classical Notes blog.

  • Showering with Beethoven, Headstands with Stravinsky
    Need some creative inspiration? Take Ludwig's advice and splash some cold water on your face.
  • Moonlight at the Bus Stop
    Commuters help perform Beethoven's Moonlight sonata.
  • Brooklyn Rider and Beethoven
    Colin, Eric, Johnny and Nick meet Ludwig van Beethoven...
  • The Short Version: Self Assessment
    Any prolific composer could surprise us with how they rank their own works. Perhaps it's as simple and as compelling as "What have I done lately?" This 19th century Titan might have dismissed one of our favorites with, "That's so 1808."
  • Beethoven the Charismatic!
    SNL Host Jimmy Fallon adds Ludwig van Beethoven to his list of impersonations!
  • Seven More Days Until Beethoven's Birthday (More or Less)
    A week from today (December 16) is Beethoven's birthday. As pointed out by Lucy in this classic strip, we don't really know this. What we do know is that Beethoven was baptized on the 17th of December, and Catholic children were traditionally baptized on the day following birth.
  • The Short Version: Apocryphal
    This is the man God has sent us. . . .
  • The King's Speech and Beethoven
    Having finally seen "The King's Speech" over the weekend, I was all fired up to write a marvelous blog about how the film smartly uses the music of Beethoven (Mozart too!) to fully enhance the drama. Alas, it seems David...
  • Low Cal Beethoven
    It was common practice in Beethoven's day to arrange large scale works for smaller forces. After all, getting to the concert hall wasn't always possible, so this allowed amateur musicians to experience great music right in their homes. Beethoven's assistant,...
  • Here's Your Moment of Beethoven
    Recently, a colleague of mine stopped me in the hall to ask about a certain piece of classical music that had grabbed his attention. And a little later, another colleague stopped me in the hall, with a similar question. They...
  • Mixed Reviews for Beethoven on Broadway
    Back in November I posted a note about 33 Variations, a play about a musicologist trying to unravel one last Beethoven mystery before she dies. Well, the play has opened, and the reviews suggest the show has a lot of...
  • Schiff on Beethoven, Again
    Andras Schiff has been spending a lot of time with Beethoven in recent years, playing all 32 piano sonatas in a series of 8 recitals in London, New York and Los Angeles (and maybe other cities, too?). He's gotten reviews...
  • Beethoven on Broadway
    Publisher Anton Diabelli wrote a short waltz and sent it to 50 composers, asking each of them to write a variation on it. Beethoven turned him down--but then ultimately wrote 33 variations on it. Why? That's the question at the...
  • Written by Bach .... Mrs. Bach, That Is
    What if some of J. S. Bach's best loved pieces were actually composed by his wife? That's the conclusion that an Australian music scholar has reached. Is it a logical conclusion, far-fetched, or somewhere in between? Judge for yourself and...
  • Andras Schiff on Beethoven
    I mentioned this on the air this morning, so I thought I'd post a link, too. Pianist Andras Schiff has been playing all of the Beethoven sonatas in a series of eight recitals. A couple of years ago, when he...
  • Beethoven + Minnesota Orchestra + Osmo Vanska = Perfect 10
    Happy news in the New Year for the Minnesota Orchestra. Not long after receiving a Grammy nomination for their recording of Beethoven's Ninth, their new CD of Beethoven's First and Sixth Symphonies gets a perfect 10 rating from critic David...
  • Beethoven Gets Even
    Just in case you missed it on All Things Considered: Music critic Tom Manoff taking notice that the most famous Beethoven symphonies have the odd numbers (Beethoven's Fifth, Beethoven's Ninth..), and the "neglected" ones, the even. Actually, in the case...
  • Beethoven, Klemperer and Mendelssohn
    So, the Minnesota Orchestra kicked off their "Beethoven's Back" promotion today with The Big Guy himself handing out coffee, newspapers and downloads in front of Orchestra Hall this morning, and it reminded me of a story about Beethoven's Fifth Symphony...



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