Episode 9 – The Commissions Come In

John focuses on some of the commissions that the young Beethoven received, and the works that he composed as a result. He’ll reveal what Beethoven came up with when faced with both the small, such as his Elegie on the Death of a Poodle, as well as the large; as John plays Beethoven’s Cantata on the Death of an Emperor. John also explores how the latter influenced part of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, and the extraordinary reason why neither piece was performed in his lifetime. 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.