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