We’ll begin at the beginning - in Bonn, to be precise, where Beethoven was born in 1770. Andy finds out about the young Ludwig’s home life, including a supportive mother and a less than supportive father. How did Beethoven’s upbringing shape his personality and work ethic? What was Beethoven like at school? And how exactly does Andy manage to crowbar references to Annakin Skywalker, HMRC and Keith Richards into this podcast?

The guests in this episode are conductors Mark Elder, Jonathon Heyward and Carlo Rizzi, cellist Matthew Barley and Scala Radio presenter and composer Jack Pepper.

This podcast features extracts of Beethoven’s Symphonies 5 & 9 performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. LPO Label releases are available on all major streaming platforms and at lpo.org.uk/recordings. The recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos 3 & 4 are performed by Elizabeth Sombart and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Piano Concerto No.5 is performed by Alessio Bax and the Southbank Sinfonia - all are available at https://signumrecords.com/