The award winning Danish String Quartet performed all sixteen Beethoven String Quartets from November 5-11 in an astonishing six programs—a belated celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday worth waiting for. The ensemble was originally scheduled to perform the works in a

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the rising star on the Viennese music scene in the last decade of the 18th century. He made his name by showcasing his talents as a pianist, and he composed and performed piano sonatas of

Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto—nicknamed “Emperor” after Beethoven’s death and referring to the work’s majestic character rather than a specific political figure—was conceived during troubled times. Napoleon’s forces had invaded Vienna in 1809, and the subsequent French occupation brought physical and

After the overwhelming flood of Beethoven during the 2020 Beethoven Year, it’s a pleasure to see a different view of the man’s works. Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony was the inspiration for Viennese Jugendstil artist and Klimt colleague Josef Maria Auchentaller (1865-1949)

The piano was Ludwig van Beethoven’s favourite instrument. He was a virtuoso at the keyboard, and his compositions for piano “became a vehicle for experimenting not only with the fundamental aspects and techniques of music, but also a means of

It’s the bane of every beginning pianist – it’s too easy to make it banal and not musical – and it’s probable that the work itself is misunderstood by 99% of the amateurs who attempt it. ‘It’ is Beethoven’s Bagatelle

Beethoven’s opera Fidelio had problems from the start. Its premiere, in November 1805, came a week after Napoleon’s troops had invaded Vienna. The composer’s patrons had left the city, and the audience, largely made up of French officers, didn’t like

In the 19th century, the rise of Napoleon and the threat he posed to all of Europe (and Russia) cannot be underestimated. As his victorious armies swept from border to border, whole nations fell under his sway. Those with revolutionary