Beethoven
List of News Articles

The (mis)numbering of symphonies
18 May 2026
We look at the thorny issue of how symphonies are numbered. Warning: may cause confusion!
Beethoven's Seventh: the apotheosis of the dance?
27 April 2026
How has Wagner's epithet affected the way we approach this favourite Beethoven symphony?
The Curse of the Ninth
13 April 2026
You've composed nine symphonies. Do you start another, or would you fall foul to the dreaded Curse of the Ninth? [insert dramatic music]
The SCO Chorus' favourite masses
30 March 2026
How to choose among the hundreds of masses that have been written over the centuries? Let the SCO Chorus be your guide ...
The great Beethoven symphonies
9 February 2026
In which we bite the bullet and look at four unmissable works
Beethoven's 'lesser' symphonies
26 January 2026
Why are some Beethoven symphonies better-known than others?
Joseph Joachim and the great German violin concertos
19 January 2026
Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bruch and Brahms: four violin concertos, all connected by a single violinist.
The search for Beethoven's successor
19 January 2026
Beethoven died in 1827. Who would be worthy to take on his mantle?
Musical quotations
19 January 2026
Follow the thread as one composer quotes another ...
Making a splash: water music beyond Handel
5 January 2026
We take a look at musical depictions of water, from trickling burns to the wide expanse of the ocean, to see what lurks below the surface.
Haydn, Father of the Symphony
22 September 2025
In the latest in our series looking at the symphony, what makes Haydn so significant in its development?
Symphonies and their nicknames
8 September 2025
Beethoven's Fifth has a nickname? Well, it does according to some people ...