Bach has as you've alluded to Stephen a certain amount of fun and 20 children Beethoven never has sex Bach obeys all the rules Beethoven breaks them. We have to assume that Bach was anti-Semitic Beethoven not at all he has a very happy friendship with a young medical student who gives him the idea for the first song cycle. He is absolutely all over this young man and there is no hint whatsoever of any of the prejudices that are so embedded and so prevalent in the society of his time beethoven treats every human being on merit and if there is no merit still treats them as an equal. In many ways we think of him as perhaps as being a
This episode is part two of our live Bach vs Beethoven. The BBC’s Reeta Chakrabarti was joined by world-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis and acclaimed music critic Norman Lebrecht to discuss who was greater, Bach or Beethoven? Mishka Rushdie Momen accompanies this conversation on the piano.
Part three of this event is available ad free, for subscribers now.
This conversation took place in April 2023. It was produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye, with editing by Lead Producer Catharine Hughes
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