Beethoven

9 hrs. 5 min.

Language Russian

Author Bernard Fauconnier

Narrator Mikhail Roslyakov

Description

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a great German composer and performer, one of the three “Viennese classics” (along with Haydn and Mozart)—a key figure of the transitional period from classicism to the romantic era in classical music. The author of this biography traces how genius and an all-consuming desire to create, despite the composer’s personal hardships and an ailment that proved fatal for a musician—deafness—lifted his work to unprecedented heights of mastery. Beethoven’s compositions astonished his contemporaries with their innovative boldness and power; even today they remain among the most famous and performed in the world. The musical culture of humanity is forever divided into “before” and “after” Beethoven.