Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,788 playable programmes from the BBC
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores the history and musical mechanics of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor), finding that myth has obscured the brilliance of the work's construction. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's piano sonata, the Hammerklavier, Op. 106. Completed in 181, the work is considered to the most imposing of all Beethoven's 32 sonatas. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson offers an insight into the mechanics of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, pulling apart this string quartet masterpiece and exploring how we should go about listening to it. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores the inner workings of Beethoven's Trio in E flat, Op 38, one of the few instances of an arrangement of an original work by the composer himself. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Op. 56, a work which broke new ground with its combining of a piano trio with an orchestra. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's most popular work and arguably the most famous pieces of classical music ever written, the Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's Quartet in C, the third in the Opus 59 series, commissioned by the composer's friend Count Razumovsky. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4.
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's most playful symphony, the Eighth, to reveal a mastery of the form and a work replete with as many radical ideas as many others he created. Show more
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3.
20 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 3
Available for over a year
Stephen Johnson explores themes of triumph and doubt in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, reflecting the turbulent times in which the composer lived. Show more
Exploring how Beethoven's 1806 Violin Concerto touches and changes people's lives. With Robert Gupta. From 2012. Show more
Pianist James Rhodes explains the role Beethoven's final piano concerto has played in his life. With John Suchet. From October 2010. Show more
It is so much more than just 'da da da dum'. Exploring the impact of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. With Dana Cameron. From 2013. Show more
John Suchet, Hans Rhieburg and Susan Greenfield reflect on the impact of Beethoven's last symphony 'Ode to Joy'. From 2000. Show more
38 minutes
The 'Emperor' was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, who was a friend and student of the composer. It premiered in Leipzig, Germany, in 1811. Show more
20 minutes
Petroc Trelawny discusses the link between Beethoven and the Royal Philharmonic Society with Helen Wallace. Amanda Glauert provides an introduction to his Symphony No 9. Show more
No symphony pulses more vigorously with the rhythms of political protest than Beethoven's 'Eroica', performed here entirely from memory.
Beethoven’s great hymn to humanity.
