Sources & browser storage

Courses come from MIT OpenCourseWare, The Open University (OpenLearn) and TU Delft OpenCourseWare; each course page credits its source and license. Books in the reader come from Project Gutenberg, audiobooks from LibriVox.

RedLectern is independent of MIT, The Open University and TU Delft and is not endorsed by them. Self-study only: no grades, certificates, or credit.

Progress and notes are saved in this browser. Export a backup; clearing browser data can remove them. YouTube embeds may process usage data.

Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume I (Version 2)

Name: Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume I (Version 2)
Author: Alexander Wheelock Thayer

Alexander Wheelock Thayer

Read by realisticspeakers · LibriVox · public domain · Archive.org recording · License

Chapters

Open a chapter to play its MP3 recording.

Introduction (36:28)
Chapter 1 Pt. 1 Fall of the Ecclesiastical-Civil States in Germany (27:40)
Chapter 1 Pt. 2 The Electors of Cologne in the Eighteenth Century (25:31)
Chapter 1 Pt. 3 The Electoral Courts and Their Music (29:32)
Chapter 1 Pt. 4 Earliest Records of the Beethovens (28:38)
Chapter 1 Pt. 5 Musical Culture in Bonn at the Time of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Birth (30:14)
Chapter 2 Beethoven’s Ancestors in Belgium (31:51)
Chapter 3 Birth of Ludwig van Beethoven (41:03)
Chapter 4 Early Employment of His Talent and Skill (26:51)
Chapter 5 Musical Culture in the Austrian Imperial Family (24:47)
Chapter 6 A Period of Artistic Inactivity in Bonn (34:34)
Chapter 7 Beethoven Brought Under Refining Influences (19:43)
Chapter 8 Beethoven’s Associates in the Court Orchestra (16:25)
Chapter 9 The Last Three Years of Beethoven’s Life in Bonn (48:13)
Chapter 10 Beethoven’s Creative Activity in Bonn (46:52)
Chapter 11 Beethoven in Vienna (50:27)
Chapter 12 Music in Vienna at the Time of Beethoven’s Arrival There (33:56)
Chapter 13 Beethoven in Society (50:41)
Chapter 14 The Years 1796 and 1797 (1:10:43)
Chapter 15 Compositions of 1798 and 1799 (53:32)
Chapter 16 Beethoven’s Social Life in Vienna (48:25)
Chapter 17 Beethoven’s Character and Personality (58:49)
Chapter 18 His First Concert on His Own Account (46:06)
Chapter 19 The Year 1801 (48:12)
Chapter 20 Important Letters of 1801 (1:03:34)
Chapter 21 Beethoven’s Love-Affairs (59:11)
Chapter 21 Postscript (35:38)
Chapter 22 Pt. 1 The Year 1802 (34:40)
Chapter 22 Pt. 2 A Defence of Brothers Johann and Karl Kaspar (34:17)