Transformative Alchemy: Beethoven's Sixth Symphony.
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| Beethoven and Nature. Detail from the painting by N.C. Wyeth. |
What is program music? This is a question that musicians and music critics have been wrestling with (and generally losing the match) for 200 years. The debate started in 1808, the year that Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Symphony No. 6 in F Major, the Pastorale. While it would be Hector Berlioz who created the first detailed program ...