Moving Homes

It is estimated that Beethoven lived in between 60 and 80 different houses in Vienna, In Tuesday’s programme, Donald Macleod explores these various house moves, asking whether they might be a symptom of his dissatisfaction with the city he had come to call home.

This week, Donald explores Ludwig van Beethoven’s life through the years 1807-1809. This was a period that ended with the traumatic second occupation of Vienna by Napoleon’s forces, and a time when Beethoven himself was feeling increasingly restless in the city after his plans to gain financial stability were thwarted.

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.

Lob auf de Dicken, WoO 100
Accentus

Quartet in E minor, Op 59 No 2 “Rasumovsky” (IV. Presto)
Quatuor Ebene

Elegischer Gesang, Op 118
Collegium Musicum 90 Chorus
Collegium Musicum 90
Richard Hickox, conductor

Symphony No 6 in F major, Op 68 “Pastoral Symphony” (1st and 2nd movements)
Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig
Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Piano trio in D major, Op 70 No 1 “Ghost” (2nd movement)
Amatis Trio

Six Goethe Songs, Op 75 No 6 (Der Zufriedene)
Matthias Goerne, baritone
Alexander Schmalcz, piano

Producer: Sam Phillips