Beethoven
6 talks with John Suchet
We continue our AROUND SOUND series with six recorded talks on Ludvig van Beethoven by John Suchet.
Before joining Classic FM, John was best known as one of the country’s most popular television reporters and newscasters. As a reporter for ITN, he covered major events around the world, including the Iran Revolution, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Philippines Revolution. He then became a news anchor for ITN, presenting all major bulletins including News at Ten. John has been honoured in both roles. He was Television Reporter of the year in 1986, and Television Newscaster of the year in 1996. In 2008 the Royal Television Society accorded him its highest accolade, the Lifetime Achievement Award.
John has had a lifelong passion for classical music, in particular for the life and works of Beethoven. He has published seven books on the great composer, including a full length biography, “Beethoven — The Man Revealed”, published to acclaim in 2012. A special anniversary edition, with an added section on the music, was published in 2020, the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth.
John has published five composer biographies, including Beethoven. In September 2015 he published a biography of the Strauss family, “The Strauss Dynasty and Vienna”, which entered the Sunday Times bestseller list at no.8. In September 2016 he published a biography of Mozart, “Mozart — The Man Revealed”. His biography of Verdi, “Verdi — The Man Revealed”, was published in September 2017. And his account of Tchaikovsky’s life, “Tchaikovsky — The Man Revealed”, was published in September 2018.
John has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by his old university, The University of Dundee, and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music for his work on Beethoven.
Join us for
Around Sound - Beethoven
Format of Live Lectures
Each session will last for an hour with 15 minutes Q&A from the audience at the end.
LECTURE ONE
Beethoven — The Bonn Years
The making of a revolutionary - and how he served as a teenage kitchen scullion
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LECTURE TWO
Beethoven and Vienna
Successor to Mozart in Europe’s capital city of music - and coffee
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LECTURE THREE
Beethoven’s Deafness
The single affliction that coloured every aspect of his life - and gave us the Late Quartets
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LECTURE FOUR
Beethoven’s Women
The many proposals of marriage - but who was his Immortal Beloved?
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LECTURE FIVE
Beethoven — The Music
Only 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, one opera - but he broke the rules in every musical form
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LECTURE SIX
Beethoven and his nephew Karl
The five year court case that stunted his creativity and broke his health - and it was all his doing
How it will work
All course participants will be emailed a ‘Universal Link’ which will contain everything we need for the course, including links to each lecture. These links are private and only available to those on the Beethoven course. Just before each lecture starts, we click on the link and we shall be taken to the private room when John will appear.
No scores or course materials are required for this course.
Fee for all six Lectures
The fee for this course of six lectures is £25.
