History isn't absolutely clear on this point, but we're pretty sure today is Ludwig van Beethoven's birthday. Most of us have the image of the older Beethoven in our heads: stone deaf, isolated, angry, tormented. Some of that late Beethoven is in the show today, but also some early Beethoven, like a charming little Sonatina for recorder and guitar from the Minnesota Beethoven Festival. Plus Beethoven's massive oddity for orchestra, chorus, and piano soloist: the Choral Fantasy, from a concert in San Francisco.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Third movement from Piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 63
The Beethoven Project Trio
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Sonatina in C for Recorder and Guitar, WoO 44a
Michala Petri, recorder, Lars Hannibal, guitar
Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Winona, Minnesota
Andre Jolivet
: Pastorale de Noel for Flute, Bassoon, and Harp
Monica Raga, flute, Vicente Alario, bassoon, Beatriz Millan, harp
Teatro Monumental, Madrid, Spain
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Excerpt from Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat, Op. 110
Andras Schiff, piano
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Fantasia, Op. 80 (Choral Fantasy)
Louis Lortie, piano, the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Kurt Masur, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
Sammy Cahn
: Let it Snow
The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet
St. John's United Methodist Church, Lubbock, Texas
Matthew Nielsen
: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
The Brigham Young University Singers, Ronald Staheli, conductor
Harris Fine Arts Center, Provo, Utah
Hour 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Second movement from Septet in E-flat, Op. 20
Thomas Zehetmair, violin, and friends
Ole Bull
: Excerpts from La Melancholie
Berit Opheim, singer, Arve Tellefsen, violin, Sveinung Bjelland, piano
Bergen International Festival, Bergen, Norway
Peter Warlock
: Bethlehem Down
The RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Gavin Maloney, conductor
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Violin Sonata in A Minor, Op. 23
Midori, violin, Ozgur Aydin, piano
Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Itzehoe, Germany
9th Century Chant
: Creator of the Stars of Night
Men of Renaissance, St. John's Choir
St. John's Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina
Johann Sebastian Bach
: Break Forth, O Beauteous Morning Light, from the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
The Swedish Radio Chorus and Orchestra, Mika Eichenholz, conductor
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
Ludwig van Beethoven
: Rondino in E-flat, WoO 25
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Carnegie Hall, New York City
