Ludwig van Beethoven: Making His Way

Donald Macleod follows Beethoven as he sets himself up in his new
home of Vienna.


All through 2020, Donald Macleod takes an unprecedented deep dive
into the compelling story and extraordinary music of Ludwig van
Beethoven. In this uniquely ambitious series, told across 125
episodes of Composer of the Week, Donald puts us inside
Beethoven’s world and explores his hopes, struggles and
perseverance in all the colourful detail this amazing narrative
deserves. Alongside this in-depth biography, Donald will also be
meeting and talking to Beethoven enthusiasts and experts from
across the world to discover how his music continues to speak to
us in the 21st century. Through story and sound, the series
builds into a vivid new portrait of this composer, born 250 years
ago this year, who made art that changed how people saw
themselves and understood the world.


This week, Donald Macleod’s focus is on Beethoven’s first months
and years in Vienna, following his move there from his home town
of Bonn. The young composer was still in his early twenties, low
on cash, and had only a handful of works to his name. He was
going to have to work hard to find success in the imperial
capital, where audiences had grown up on the music of Mozart and
Haydn.


Music featured: La Partenza, WoO 124 String Quartet in A minor,
Op 132 (II. Allegro ma non tanto) Piano Concerto No 2 (III.
Rondo) Trio in G major, Op 1 No 2 Bagatelle, Op 33 No 7 (Presto)
String Trio, Op 3 in E flat major ( I. Allegro con brio) Piano
Sonata No 2, Op 2 No 2 (3rd and 4th movements) Symphony No 8,
(2nd and 3rd movements) String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 (3rd
and 4th movements) Sextet for horns and string quartet, Op 81b
Symphony No 2 (1st movement) Quartet in E flat major, Op 127 (3rd
and 4th movements) Piano Sonata No 12 in A flat, Op 26 Piano
Sonata No 3 in C, Op 2 No 3 (3rd movement) Piano Sonata No 1, Op
2 No 1 (final movement) Violin Sonata, Op 30 No 2 (3rd movement)
‘Adelaide’, Op 46 String Trio Op 3 in E flat major (4th, 5th and
6th movements) 12 Minuets, WoO 7, No 1 Piano Concerto No 1 in C
major, Op 15 (1st movement) Piano Trio Op 1 No 3 (1st and 2nd
movements) 12 Minuets WoO 7, Nos. 7 & 11 Piano Concerto No 1
in C major, Op 15 (3rd movement)


Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC
Wales


For full tracklistings, including artist and recording details,
and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after
broadcast) head to the series page for Beethoven Unleashed:
Making His Way https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fmt0


And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve
featured on Composer of the Week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z