Human Voices Wake Us

The Sound of Beethoven (from the archive)

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An episode from 1/1/24: Tonight, a cold has forced me to hand over the episode almost entirely to some of the greatest music ever written. Here are excerpts of my favorite pieces from Ludwig van Beethoven (1750-1827). It’s hard to think of music that is more passionate, introspective, uplifting, brooding, mournful, and joyous. The sources for the music I use are:

  • Excerpts from the Ninth Symphony/Op. 125 is conducted by Eugen Duvier.
  • Excerpts from the Piano Sonatas (#1 and #2/Op. 2, #8/Op. 13, #13 and #14/Op. 27 #15/Op. 28, #17/Op. 31, #21/Op. 53, #22/Op. 54, #27/Op. 90), and the Fifth Piano Concerto/Op. 73 come from the complete recordings by Claudio Arrau.
  • The excerpt from the Op. 70 “Ghost” Trio, from the Trio Bell’Arte.
  • Excerpts from String Quartet 13/Op. 130 and String Quartet 15/Op. 132 come from the recordings by the Quartteto Italiano. 
  • Excerpts from Missa Solemnis, Op. 123, is conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.
  • The excerpt from Robert Greenberg lecture comes from his Great Courses set on the Piano Sonatas. 

    • You can support Human Voices Wake Us here, or by ordering any of my books: Notes from the Grid, To the House of the Sun, The Lonely Young & the Lonely Old, and Bone Antler Stone. I've also edited a handful of books in the S4N Pocket Poems series. Email me at [email protected].

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