Episode 4 – School Days

The precise date of Beethoven’s birth is a mystery to this day, and in this episode John explores the reasons why the composer’s father may have been deliberately trying to disguise his son’s age. He’ll also reveal the truth behind Beethoven’s school days, and why they were so bad, his family were forced to remove him at the age of ten. John plays the music Ludwig was composing around that time too, including his first attempt at a Theme with Variations, and how, as a boy, Beethoven wrote a series of Piano Quartets that he could play alongside adults. All the Beethoven pieces featured in this podcast are taken from the 90-disc Naxos box set, the Complete Beethoven Edition. You can buy yours by heading to Presto Classical and Europadisc.