Unlucky in Love
Donald Macleod explores Beethoven's letters. Read by Adrian Lester, today Beethoven's flirting gets him into trouble. He falls deeply in love and suffers the misery of rejection.
Donald Macleod explores Beethoven's varied and rich correspondence. Read by Adrian Lester, in today's excerpts from the composer's letters we find that Beethoven's flirting has got him into trouble; he falls deeply in love and suffers the misery of rejection on more than one occasion.
More than 1,770 of Beethoven's letters still survive and, this week, Donald Macleod delves into five different areas of this extensive archive. Today he's looking at some of Beethoven's romantic life through the letters he wrote. According to his close friend Franz Wegeler, "Beethoven was always in love," and sometimes made conquests, "that an Adonis would have found difficult, if not impossible." All too frequently Beethoven appears to have punched above his weight, falling in love with a succession of women who were socially unattainable, his feelings destined to be crushed. One of his most deep and painful affairs was with the Countess Josephine Deym, but we also find him flirting with the very talented, and married pianist Marie Bigot, sprucing himself up to attract one of his piano pupils, gossiping with the fascinating artist Bettina Brentano, and writing perhaps his most heartfelt words to a mystery woman who remains to this day known only as the Immortal Beloved..
Music includes:
Piano Sonata in C sharp minor, Op 27 No 2
II: Allegretto
Paul Lewis, piano
An die Hoffnung, Op 32
John Mark Ainsley, tenor
Iain Burnside, piano
Piano Sonata No 23 in F minor, Op 57 (Appassionata)
III: Allegro ma non troppo
Ingrid Fliter, piano
Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
An die Ferne Geliebte
James Gilchrist, tenor
Anna Tilbrook, piano
Last on
Music Played
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata in C sharp minor 'Moonlight', Op 27 No 2 (2nd mvt)
Performer: Paul Lewis. -
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Ludwig van Beethoven
An die Hoffnung, Op 32
Performer: Richard Burnett. Singer: John Mark Ainsley.- Signum: SigCD145.
- Signum.
- 5.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Ich denke dein, WoO 74
Performer: J枚rg Demus. Performer: Norman Shetler.- DG : 4837657.
- DG.
- 180.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No 23 in F minor 'Appassionata', Op 57 (3rd mvt)
Performer: Ingrid Fliter.- WARNER CLASSICS : 0945732.
- WARNER CLASSICS.
- 9.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Bagatelle (Fur Elise) In A Minor Woo.59 For Piano
Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy.- DECCA : 411-902 2.
- DECCA.
- 6.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
An die ferne Geliebte, Op 98
Performer: Anna Tilbrook. Singer: James Gilchrist.
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- Wed 29 Jul 2020 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
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