Beethoven

161 Posts
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Beethoven’s Mother: The Tragic Story of Maria Magdalena Beethoven
Maria Magdalena Keverich Beethoven, the mother of Ludwig van Beethoven, tends not to play a major role in retellings of the great composer’s life. This is a shame, because her life and death reverberated through her son’s life. Speaking more
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Ode to Joy
Why Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Had Everyone Singing and Crying
It was May 7, 1824, and Vienna’s Kärntnertor Theater was about to witness history—or possibly a musical trainwreck. Beethoven, profoundly deaf, took the stage for the premiere of his Symphony No. 9 in D minor. The night would turn out
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Finding a New Creative Path: Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto
When he finally arrived in Vienna as a permanent resident in 1795, Beethoven fit into an interesting hiatus in the city’s music life. Mozart‘s recent death left a place open for a daring piano virtuoso and composer. In his first
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Josephine von Brunsvik: Was This Tragic Figure Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved?
Who was Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved, the woman who inspired a passionate, unsent love letter written in the summer of 1812? Her identity is a question that has preoccupied historians and music lovers for generations. One of the most likely candidates
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Elevating his Fame: Beethoven’s Piano Trios
When Ludwig van Beethoven went to Vienna in 1792, he was coming expecting to become Mozart’s successor. Mozart had died in early December 1791, and Beethoven came with the praise of the German composer and organist Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748-98)
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BEETHOVEN Selected Sonatas Opus 2, No. 3
Waldstein
Les Adieux
Julian Jaeyoung Kim, piano
Korean-American pianist Julian Jaeyoung Kim made a bold statement with his debut CD, ‘Brahms Resonances’, featuring Brahms’ Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 5, and the Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35 (Read our review here). Now, in his
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Writing for His Love: Beethoven’s Variations WoO 70
The Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello (1740–1816) was the most popular opera composer at the end of the 18th century. Based in Naples, his operas caught the attention of all of Italy and, in addition to Naples, he wrote operas for
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Ludwig van Beethoven
A “Bagatelle” Tribute
Arguably, the first composer to write true piano music was Ludwig van Beethoven. To be sure, he had tremendous technical ability, and critics wrote, “He was attacking pianos with such force that during the performance, keys, hammers and strings would
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