Everyone will have an opinion on this – do you want the traditional German heavy recordings? The new interpretive English opinions? Do you want national orchestras? Idiosyncratic readings that make you hear old warhorses with a new manner of understanding?

Beethoven’s apartment at Ungargasse 5 sports a unique memorial plague. It reads, “In this house Ludwig van Beethoven finished his Symphony No. 9 during winter 1823/24. In memorial of the centenary of the world premiere on 7 May 1824, this

Unlike others, I often find it difficult to recall my first encounter with a certain composer. So, for Beethoven, it could have been his Für Elise, Symphony No.5 (ta-ta-ta duh) or something else – I don’t know. But anyways, as

In the autumn of 1817, Ludwig van Beethoven accepted an offer from the Philharmonic Society of London. He was commissioned to write two symphonies, and invited to appear in London during the winter season of 1817/18. However, Beethoven had not

We did a survey of Beethoven monuments and it turns out that there are basically two kinds. The most traditional is Beethoven in full glower, standing or sitting and thinking of things far beyond the knowledge of mere mortals. The

By 15 November 1815, Beethoven’s brother Caspar Carl’s health had suddenly deteriorated, and he suddenly collapsed and died on that very day. In his will, he appointed Beethoven the sole guardian of his only child, the 9-year-old Karl, but an

Is there anyone who does not know the name of Beethoven? Beethoven might just be the universal word for classical music. His contemporaries thought so much of him that in 1877, Dr. Ludwig Nohl published a book titled Beethoven Depicted

In the spring of 1804, Ludwig van Beethoven moved into the “Rotes Haus” (Red House) where his friend Stephan von Breuning was lodging. Beethoven had been sick for some time, and von Breuning invited the composer to stay with him