On Trial
Beethoven makes a final appeal to the judges who will decide if he can retain custody of his young nephew Karl, or whether the boy should be returned to his mother.
Beethoven makes a final appeal to the judges who will decide if he can retain custody of his young nephew Karl, or whether the boy should be returned to his mother.
This week, Donald Macleod follows Ludwig van Beethoven through the years of 1816-1821, a period when the composer was moving towards yet another extraordinary and revolutionary flowering of his creativity. However, something was holding him back. Beethoven had resolved to become the legal guardian of his nephew, Karl, and to remove him from the care of his mother, Johanna. The resulting court battles would rumble on for five years, damaging everyone involved, consuming them all, and distracting Beethoven from his music.
Composer of the Week is returning to the story of Beethoven鈥檚 life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3鈥檚 Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven鈥檚 birth.
Bester Magistrat, Ihr friert WoO.177
Berliner Singakademie
Directed by Dietrich Knothe
Tremate, empi, tremate Op.116
Reetta Haavisto, soprano
Dan Karlstr枚m, tenor
Kevin Greenlaw, baritone
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leif Segerstam
Bagatelles Op.119, Nos.7-11
Alfred Brendel, piano
Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel WoO.150
Benjamin Appl, baritone
Graham Johnson, piano
March for Military Band WoO.24 (extract)
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Ensemble
conducted by Hans Priem-Bergrath
Piano Sonata No.31, Op.110
Alfred Brendel, piano
Last on
More episodes
Next
You are at the last episode
Music Played
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Bester Magistrat, Ihr friert! WoO 177
Choir: Berlin Singakademie. Conductor: Dietrich Knothe.- Berlin Classics.
- Berlin Classics.
- 21.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Tremate, empi, Tremate, Op 116
Librettist: Giovanni de Gamerra. Performer: Reetta Haavisto. Performer: Dan Karlstr枚m. Performer: Kevin Greenlaw. Performer: Leif Segerstam. Orchestra: Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.- NAXOS : 8573882.
- NAXOS.
- 9.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Bagatelles, Op 119 (Nos 7-11)
Performer: Alfred Brendel.- PHILIPS : 456 031-2-.
- PHILIPS.
- 16.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Abendlied untern gestirnten Himmel, WoO 150
Performer: Graham Johnson. Singer: Benjamin Appl. -
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
March for Military Band, WoO 24
Ensemble: Bl盲ser der Berliner Philharmoniker. Director: Hans Priem-Bergrath.- DG : E4196242.
- DG.
- 12.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No 31 in A flat major, Op 110
Performer: Alfred Brendel.- PHILIPS : 446-701-2.
- PHILIPS.
- 4.
Broadcast
- Fri 9 Oct 2020 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
Vaughan Williams Today
Programmes, concerts and features celebrating Vaughan Williams's 150th anniversary.
Beethoven Unleashed 鈥� the box set
The complete set of Radio 3 Beethoven Unleashed podcasts, with Donald Macleod.
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems
Composers A to Z
Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works.
Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week
The production team reflects on 5 of Donald Macleod鈥檚 best stories from the last 20 years
Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem
What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?
A man out of time 鈥� why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...
The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.
Composer Help Page
Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.