A powerful and moving passage from the Beethoven biography that I am currently reading: In the end, the Ninth Symphony presents us as many questions as answers. Its utopia is envisioned, not attained. It was neglected for decades before it found its triumph. Yet the place in the world that Beethoven intended the Ninth to inhabit is exactly where it ( Read more... )

What was Beethoven's most successful piece? If I had to guess, I would probably say Symphony No. 9 and its "Ode to Joy," or one of the famous Piano Sonatas, "Moonlight" or "Pathétique", or perhaps the ubiquitous "Für Elise ( Read more... )

Franz II... not notably intelligent or curious, by nature conservative and fearful of change... took the [Holy Roman Empire] throne in 1792 opposed to democracy and fascinated by the potential of secret police and censorship to keep his subjects in line. When King Louis XVI was beheaded in Paris in January 1793 and the Terror rolled into motion, ( Read more... )