Barenboim on Beethoven

A remarkable insight into the mind and music of Ludwig van Beethoven, featuring highlights from Daniel Barenboim's 1970 series of programmes about the man and his music. Shot at London's Roundhouse Theatre, this compilation cherry picks some of the best moments, as Barenboim talks and plays extracts at the piano, illustrating the defining characteristics of Beethoven's compositions and sharing his personal insight into the composer's mindset. The full series of 13 episodes in their entirety - over seven hours, from the Fourth Piano Concerto to the Eroica to Beethoven's Fifth - follows on More4.

In this opening episode, Barenboim draws on excerpts from piano sonatas, concertos, and symphonies by Beethoven - comparing them with superficially similar works by Mozart.

Daniel Barenboim shines the spotlight on Beethoven's formal innovations - just as he refused to show subservience to his aristocratic patrons, he also flouted convention in music.

Daniel Barenboim turns to the monumental Waldstein sonata - one of the most musically ingenious and technically demanding of the 32 piano sonatas.

Barenboim's fiery interpretation of the Appassionata sonata, a spectacular encapsulation of the synthesis of extremes that he discussed in the third episode.

Daniel Barenboim turns his attention to the Leonore Overtures Nos 2 and 3, elucidating the path that Beethoven took from one to the other and the musical reasons for his revisions.

The composer's Piano Concerto No 4, a soulful and contemplative work that finds Beethoven at his most poetic, and a piece holding a special place in the lore of his life and career.

The remarkable Fourth Piano Concerto concludes with Daniel Barenboim alongside Sir Adrian Boult and the New Philharmonia Orchestra.

The effortless musicality and irrepressible joy that have made generations of music lovers fall in love with the A Major Cello Sonata, performed here by Jacqueline du Pré.

Daniel Barenboim turns his attention to Beethoven's Third Symphony, the Eroica, a watershed moment in the evolution of Beethoven's artistry and, indeed, of music itself.

An up-close look at the singular qualities with which Beethoven imbued all his work - the sheer breadth of his expression and his sensitivity for colour and sound.

Beethoven's final piano sonata's first movement, with its many differences in tonal and formal expansiveness, motivic spontaneity, and compositional architecture.

The second movement of Sonata No 32, which presents a vision of eternity undisturbed and a spiritual expression of pure innocence consciously won through the lessons of experience.

A spirited performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, with the young Daniel Barenboim at the helm of the New Philharmonia Orchestra.