'...the starry sky above me'

Donald Macleod explores the extraordinary premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which proved both a tremendous success and a financial disaster for the composer.

This week, Donald Macleod explores Ludwig van Beethoven’s life and work between 1822 and 1824 – a period during which the composer completed his greatest late masterpieces. It was also a time in which Beethoven became acutely aware of his own mortality, struggling with both his dwindling finances and his deteriorating health, and sought help from, among others, his brother Johann and a new secretary - Anton Schindler.

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.

Missa Solemnis, Op.123 – Kyrie: Kyrie Eleison (II)
Genia Kühmeier (soprano)
Elisabeth Kulman (mezzo-soprano)
Mark Padmore (tenor)
Hanno Müller-Brachmann (bass-baritone)
Anton Barachovsky (solo violin)
Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Bernard Haitink (conductor)

Der Kuss, Op.128
Werner Gura (tenor)
Christoph Berner (fortepiano)

Symphony no. 9, Op.125 - IV. Presto – Allegro ma non troppo
Katerina Beranova (soprano)
Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo soprano)
Hanno Müller-Brachmann (bass)
Robert Dean Smith (tenor)
MDR Rundfunkchor
GewandhausKinderchor
Gewandhauschor Leipzig
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

Bagatelles for piano, op.126
Andras Schiff (recorded in 2012 at the Beethovenhaus, Bonn)

Producer: Sam Phillips