Ludwig van Beethoven

A virtuoso pianist turned revolutionary composer, Beethoven bridged the Classical poise of Mozart and Haydn and the storm of Romanticism. His Symphony No. 5, with its four-note "fate" motif, the serene Moonlight Sonata, the tender Für Elise and the triumphant "Ode to Joy" remain among the most recognised melodies on earth. Remarkably, he composed much of his greatest music while losing his hearing — the Ninth Symphony was completed when he was almost entirely deaf. Performed live, these works regain the intimacy and intensity his first audiences felt two centuries ago.