Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was composed over many years, between 1804 and 1808. He had the habit of working on more project simultaneously and often put them on halt for longer periods. The first performance of the Symphony was in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, 1808. The instrumentation of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony …
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (composed in 1802) is often called The Tempest or Der Sturm in German. The name, and the legend, comes from Anton Schindler, who for a period was the secretary of Beethoven. According to his recollection, when asked how to interpret this piano sonata, Beethoven replied, “Read [Shakespeare’s] The …
With enough certainty we know that on his deathbed Beethoven had with him some books from Plutarch, Homer, Ovid and Epictetus. In this article we will discover who was Epictetus and how he – and stoic philosophy in general – influenced his approach to emotions. Who was Epictetus? Epictetus was a Greek philosopher born around 50 AD in Phrygia (today …
In order to understand what a leap day is, first we have to define what a leap year is! A leap year (also known as an intercalary year) is a year when one additional day is added to the calendar. This additional day is called leap day. Why do we need these leap days? Astronomical events do not happen according …
Some books, movies or lectures we remember for years, maybe for a lifetime. For me, Robert Greenberg’s courses, especially the The Symphonies of Beethoven, is such an experience. In this audio course Greenberg covers Beethoven’s symphonies in 32 lectures. In the duration of 24 hours and 12 minutes, the course will guide you not only in the history of his …
Poor Beethoven had a formidable adversary all his life: his own health. Among the many-many symptoms and illnesses he had, one sticks out as especially scary. In 1807 he wrote his playwright friend Heinrich Collin, “My colic is better, but my poor finger had to undergo a drastic nail operation. When I wrote to you yesterday it looked very angry. …