Ludwig van Beethoven: Making a Man

Donald Macleod looks for clues in Beethoven’s early life that
point towards the great man he would become.


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 looks at Beethoven’s humble beginnings as a
child born into a family of court musicians, working for the
Archbishop-Elector’s retinue in Bonn, Germany. He showed musical
talent early and followed his father and grandfather into the
Elector’s employ as soon as he reached his teens. Would he
continue to follow the family pattern and retire there too?


Music featured: Piano Sonata No 24 in F# major, Op 78 (2nd
movement) Fugue in D for organ, WoO 31 Symphony No 6 (movts. IV
& V) Violin Sonata Op 30 No 2 (2nd movement) String Quartet
Op 18 No 4 (1st and 3rd movements) String Quartet No 13 in Bb, Op
130 (2nd movement) Piano Sonata No 2, Op 2 No 2 (1st and 2nd
movements) Symphony No 4 (4th movement) Sonata for cello and
piano, Op 102 No 1 (2nd and 3rd movements) Piano Quartet, WoO 36
No 3 Piano Sonata No 19, Op 49 No 1 (2nd movement) Piano Trio,
WoO 38 (arr. Alec Frank-Gemmill) Der Mann von Wort, Op 99 24
Variations on "Venni Amore" by Righini, WoO 65 Piano Trio, Op 70
No 2 (3rd and 4th movements) String Quartet, Op 95 (Serioso) (1st
movement) Fidelio: Act I (finale) Musik zu einem Ritterballett,
Woo 1 12 Variations on 'See the conqu'ring hero comes' by Handel
for cello and piano, WoO 45 Rondo a capriccio in G major (Rage
over a lost penny) for piano, Op 129 7 Variations on 'Bei
Männern, welche Liebe fühlen', WoO 46 Resignation, WoO 149 String
Quartet, Op 59 No 1 (1st movement) Violin Concerto (2nd and 3rd
movements)


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 a Man https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dpzm


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