Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Concerts
Partner Content from WQXR
February 1, 2013 The orchestra drawn from across the Middle East play Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 2 and 9.
Partner Content from WQXR
November 17, 2012 The celebrated English conductor leads a performance of one of Beethoven's most expansive works.
Partner Content from WQXR
November 7, 2012 The acclaimed Quartet performs two of Beethoven's grand and enigmatic final string quartets.
Partner Content from WGBH
July 7, 2012 The orchestra marked 75 years at its summer home with an all-Beethoven program.
April 6, 2012 The Emerson Quartet plays Beethoven's most soulful string quartet at the Savannah Music Festival.
Partner Content from WQXR
May 14, 2011 Hear the venerable orchestra trace the arc of the symphony from the Renaissance to modern times.
Partner Content from WQXR
April 7, 2011 Watch the venerable ensemble play Beethoven, Bartok and Haydn in New York City's Greene Space.
Partner Content from APM
January 6, 2011 Celebrate the orchestra's return to its concert hall with music by Beethoven and Mozart.
Partner Content from WQXR
April 26, 2010 The lauded quartet played music from its broad repertoire, live from New York City.
Partner Content from KUSC
October 8, 2009 Hear the 28-year-old conductor take over the L.A. Philharmonic on NPR Music.
June 7, 2009 Hear the Gold Medalists at the Cliburn Competition, held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas.
March 30, 2009 The pianist concludes his run of all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas at Disney Hall in Los Angeles.
Partner Content from APM
August 19, 2008 Hear the final and bittersweet U.S. performance by the chamber ensemble, after a 53-year run.
Partner Content from APM
January 23, 2008 The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and soloists present a sampler of music from Beethoven's Leonore.
October 26, 2006 The Takacs Quartet plays Beethoven's "Heiliger Dankgesang" in the NPR studios.
June 15, 2006 The Philadelphia Orchestra performs the Beethoven's ninth and final symphony.
June 14, 2006 The Eighth continued his trend of retreating to classical styles in even-numbered symphonies.
June 13, 2006 First performed to benefit Viennese soldiers, the Seventh Symphony was embraced for its beauty.
June 12, 2006 Beethoven publicly declared the Sixth Symphony's "extramusical" purpose: an expression of nature.
June 9, 2006 Beethoven's Fifth, once overshadowed by the "Eroica," has become one of his best-known works.
June 8, 2006 Beethoven's Fourth Symphony is often overshadowed by the more dynamic Third and Fifth symphonies.
June 7, 2006 Beethoven's Third Symphony, a turning point in music history, was long and technically challenging.
June 6, 2006 During this piece's composition, Beethoven began to acknowledge the deterioration of his hearing.
June 5, 2006 Beethoven's First Symphony, dedicated to Baron Gottfried Van Swieten, came at age 29.
February 4, 2005 A piano concerto Beethoven was working on when he was 18 years old premiered Feb. 1 in Rotterdam.
Studio Sessions
Partner Content from APM
July 14, 2011 Hear the ensemble christen its new concert space with conductor Ivan Fischer.
Partner Content from WGBH
March 22, 2011 The former Rostropovich student plays little-known music by Myaskovsky and more at WGBH in Boston.
Partner Content from WGBH
November 11, 2010 Hear the young orchestra play Beethoven and Martinu with power and gusto at the WGBH Studio.
Partner Content from WGBH
November 25, 2009 Hear the young Viennese pianist play a pair of Beethoven sonatas at the WGBH studio, in Boston.
Partner Content from WGBH
March 26, 2009 Haydn invented the string quartet. Beethoven revolutionized it. Hear both from the WGBH studios.
January 7, 2009 Gifted young musicians perform with panache, playing works from Beethoven to Ravel.
October 29, 2008 A brand new arts center in New Albany, Ohio hosts brilliant teenage musicians playing the classics.
Partner Content from WGBH
May 22, 2008 Discover the master's thorny and ingenious Grosse Fuge, played by the Borromeo Quartet.
Interviews & Profiles
February 18, 2013 The acclaimed soloist leads a venerable orchestra through two beloved pieces.
November 19, 2012 A leading conductor and an author explain the resonances behind a famous phrase in music.
April 13, 2011 Hear the pianist pick favorite recordings, from Lorraine Hunt Lieberson to Leonard Cohen.
April 18, 2010 Hear NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin new releases by young classical musicians.
December 27, 2009 NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin some notable classical recordings of the past decade.
October 14, 2009 With just two notes, Beethoven connects the universe in his "Kreutzer" Sonata for violin and piano.
September 15, 2009 Hear pianist Emil Gilels bring his brand of leonine passion to three of Beethoven's best sonatas.
July 7, 2009 The group defies the difficulties inherent in performing Beethoven's 16 string quartets.
April 13, 2009 The thoughtful pianist concludes his performances of all 32 Beethoven sonatas in L.A. and New York.
February 24, 2009 Carlos Kleiber leads the Vienna Philharmonic in a sinuous, violent rendition of Beethoven's classic.
April 5, 2008 The brilliant but embattled conductor lives on through his recordings, 100 years after his birth.
February 2, 2008 With a team of scientists, the Baltimore Symphony conductor investigates the great composer.
February 2, 2008 The Baltimore Symphony conductor's penchant for forensics inspires a musical investigation.
Partner Content from WNYC
January 31, 2008 Sara Fishko compares 13 wildly different versions of Beethoven's famous piano work to find out.
December 25, 2007 Commentator Miles Hoffman checks off a list of classical hits built from musical philanthropy.
November 7, 2007 NPR's Nina Totenberg describes recent experiences that made her aware of living history.
May 8, 2007 Chinese pianist Lang Lang has conquered the classical world with dazzling technique and charisma.
August 1, 2006 Garrick Ohlsson discusses how to make the essentially percussive piano sing like a meadowlark.
December 16, 2004 The great German composer is still revered for his forceful music, 234 years after his birth.
Discover Songs
November 3, 2010 The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer would like to pore over a few scores with Beethoven.
February 24, 2009 Carlos Kleiber leads the Vienna Philharmonic in a sinuous, violent rendition of Beethoven's classic.
July 2, 2006 Three artists discuss their approach to some of the most challenging pieces written for piano.
February 12, 2006 The Missa Solemnis, considered with the Ninth Symphony, sheds light on Beethoven's spirituality.
News
July 16, 2012 Do ultra-cheap digital "box sets" of new releases by top artists help or hurt classical music?
December 23, 2011 Newly rediscovered Russian aristocratic gems, Boston loses opera and piano-playing iPhones.
September 30, 2011 The fate of a queen, Chinese politics and some "lost" Beethoven: all the news that's fit to link.
March 31, 2011 Wednesday's Arts funding cuts in Britain have bruised more than a few budgets.
March 11, 2011 The week in classical music: a new photo of Chopin and nore discussion of James Levine.
January 10, 2011 The L.A. Philharmonic's uneven debut cinecast proved that the orchestra is still the star.
November 10, 2010 Flash concerts have grown popular in the past year as a way to reach a wider audience.
October 4, 2010 The venerable British classical music magazine has announced winners in 24 categories.
June 7, 2009 Hear the Gold Medalists at the Cliburn Competition, held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas.
Partner Content from WVXU
December 12, 2007 A new generation of musicians is moving into the classical spotlight; these recordings show why.
Partner Content from WVXU
November 7, 2007 A list of five classical clocks to chime in the end of Daylight Savings Time.
September 8, 2007 An often-overlooked piano work of Beethoven inspires a play about obsession.
March 10, 2006 The music school's collection of 139 documents includes works by Beethoven, Brahms and Handel.
December 6, 2005 New tests confirm that the composer suffered from lead poisoning until his death in 1827.
December 1, 2005 In a separate auction, household fixtures formerly owned by Jerry Garcia are offered.
October 26, 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winner Edmond Morris explores the life of Ludwig van Beethoven in his new biography.
October 13, 2005 A manuscript in Beethoven's own hand has been discovered by a librarian in Philadelphia.
January 13, 2005 Beethoven's Wig 2 combines famous classical tunes with outrageous lyrics kids love.
Reviews
January 8, 2013 A new recording of Beethoven's violin sonatas keeps the spotlight on the music, not the soloist.
October 16, 2012 Critic Lloyd Schwartz says the group's versions of Beethoven's string quartets are incomparable.
August 2, 2011 Memorable performances from a fabled summer festival, newly available.
October 7, 2008 The fearless pianist finally records Beethoven's most daunting sonata, the "Hammerklavier."
October 17, 2007 A music critic is struck by the lack of even-numbered symphonies in standard play lists.
October 10, 2006 The composer's "Allegretto" from his Seventh Symphony bewitches musicians and music lovers.
February 12, 2006 The Missa Solemnis, considered with the Ninth Symphony, sheds light on Beethoven's spirituality.
More Stories
March 19, 2013 New albums of music by the "Three Bs" prove going back to basics has its advantages.
February 27, 2013 With retirement imminent, the Pope will have more time to indulge in his love of music.
November 8, 2012 Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener try to make beautiful music.
September 14, 2012 Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.
June 29, 2012 Join the formidable young pianist on his journey through the master's piano sonatas.
June 20, 2012 A building demolition inadvertently helps the pianist discover the perfect practicing solution.
May 6, 2012 Hear a brilliant new solo recording from a singular pianist who reaches for infinity — and beyond.
April 20, 2012 Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.
April 1, 2012 Weekend Edition Sunday takes a look at the mysterious saga of a new Beethoven discovery.
March 29, 2012 The Brooklyn Philharmonic's Alan Pierson reinvents the orchestra one neighborhood at a time.
March 8, 2012 The excesses of the early 18th century take a decisive hit from a reformer.
February 5, 2012 Hear the talented string quartet plumb new depths and play Beethoven, Tignor and their own music.
January 13, 2012 Newly discovered Brahms, a baritone's farewell and the iPhone that mauled Mahler.
Partner Content from WQXR
November 15, 2011 One of the world's top original instruments orchestras plays Beethoven by the book.
June 27, 2011 An idle query on Twitter ignites a fun debate.
June 7, 2011 A new biography documents Szell's success as the long-tenured leader of the Cleveland Orchestra.
May 10, 2011 Getting from Mozart and Salieri to Neil Sedaka in less than six degrees of separation.
April 21, 2011 Watch the famed flutist teach young musicians the European style in a serenade by Beethoven.
Partner Content from WDAV
January 7, 2011 In Beethoven's only opera, a daring hero risks all to save her imprisoned husband.
December 10, 2010 The eighth blackbird flutist was floored after hearing the fiery violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.
October 27, 2010 See Beethoven's 5th symphony move to a mambo rhythm, and hear other classical transformations.
October 25, 2010 And a little child shall lead them: See a 3-year-old's take on conducting.
October 5, 2010 What would happen if the popular TV show about singing took a plunge into opera?
September 23, 2010 Name your first favorite piece of classical music? The query launched a blog and a flood of stories.
March 6, 2009 Beethoven's "Fidelio" is one of opera's greatest stories of salvation, both literal and spiritual.
August 4, 2007 A four-hour Beethoven marathon in New York reprises the original concert from 1808.
December 12, 2006 WGUC music director Kent Teeters compiled this list of the year's best classical CD discoveries.
