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Beethoven was anxious to get back to writing music after focusing so much time and energy on his nephew Karl. He commits to several large and potentially lucrative projects, but will he be able to follow them through?

This week, Donald Macleod follows Ludwig van Beethoven through the years of 1816-1821, a period when the composer was moving towards yet another extraordinary and revolutionary flowering of his creativity. However, something was holding him back. Beethoven had resolved to become the legal guardian of his nephew, Karl, and to remove him from the care of his mother, Johanna. The resulting court battles would rumble on for five years, damaging everyone involved, consuming them all, and distracting Beethoven from his music.

Composer of the Week is returning to the story of Beethoven’s life and music throughout 2020. Part of Radio 3’s Beethoven Unleashed season marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.

God Save the King, WoO.157, No.3
Natalie Pérez, mezzo soprano
John Bernard, tenor
Jean-François Rouchon, baritone
Alessandro Fagiuoli, violin
Andrea Musto, cello
Jean-Pierre Armengaud, piano

Namensfeier Overture Op.115
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,
conducted by Riccardo Chailly

Piano Sonata No.28, Op.101
Hélène Grimaud, piano

So oder so WoO.148
Hermann Prey, baritone
Leonard Hokanson, piano

Missa Solemnis: Benedictus
Bach Collegium Stuttgart
conducted by Helmuth Rilling