Episode 14 - Rising Star

The 23 year old Beethoven looks for opportunities to perform in front of influential Viennese nobleman, including one who gifted him a horse that Beethoven subsequently forgot was his. We’ll hear music he wrote for the unusual combination of two oboes and cor anglais, and John tells the story of the chaotic build up to the first performance of Beethoven’s first piano concerto – now labelled his Piano Concerto No.2. Having discarded parts of it, he only just had it finished in time – and he found himself beset with health problems; as he walked out onto the stage, his stomach was troubling him, and he was starting to notice that his hearing wasn’t quite right… 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.