Poster Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
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Performance Today®

Beethoven's 240th Birthday

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

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