Happy Birthday Ludwig!
Today is Beethoven’s birthday and I would bid you hasten to Ron Coleman’s blog for an appropriately thought-provoking tribute.
To celebrate, how about his Egmont Overture, conducted by the peerless Herbert von Karajan?
And more. The scintillating first movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, also directed by Karajan. This is, to my thinking, the finest opening of a symphony ever written. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Lastly, there is this bit of slightly-schmalzty sentiment from Leonard Bernstein, who was an unabashed progressive but who also could convey the emotional appeal of music better than nearly anyone of his generation.
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