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A portrait of Beethoven painted in 1820 by Karl Joseph Stieler. (Karl Joseph Stieler/PD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness. Bedridden since the previous Christmas, he was attacked by jaundice, his limbs and abdomen swollen, each breath a struggle. As his associates went about the task of sorting through personal belongings, they uncovered a document Beethoven had written a quarter of a century earlier – a will beseeching his brothers make details of his condition known to the public. Today it is no secret that one of...

The official lyric video for "September Gurls," from the Big Star album "Radio City."Big Star - September Gurls (Official Lyric Video) | 2:50Big Star | 9.35K subscribers | 119,288 views | May 8, 2020

Mozart - "Leck mich im Arsch" - Canon in B flat for 6 Voices, K. 231 / K. 382c | 2:22Am4d3usM0z4rt | 158K subscribers | 3,102,462 views | April 30, 2012

Loud music by the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldi has been blaring inside the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station, along with the blinding effects of floodlights, the LA Times reported. The push is part of a pilot program launched in January using a royalty-free playlist to drive out the homeless and cut down on crime — but some critics have described the sonorous strategy as tone-deaf torture that fails to address the underlying problems. The tactic of using loud music with ulterior motives is nothing new.

SNIP Ever since, a cottage industry has aimed to understand Beethoven’s illnesses and the cause of his death. Now, an analysis of strands of his hair has upended long held beliefs about his health. The report provides an explanation for his debilitating ailments and even his death, while also raising new questions about his genealogical origins and hinting at a dark family secret. The paper, by an international group of researchers, was published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. It offers additional surprises: A famous lock of hair — the subject of a book and a documentary — was not...

The classical composer who died almost 300 years ago, has been at the centre of a race debate for over a century; but does this mean we should disturb his grave? German singer, Roberto Blanco, has called on the Mayor of Vienna to exhume Beethoven’s body for a racial DNA test. The request is the latest in an over century old debate about the ethnicity of the German-born classical music giant. Beethoven died in Vienna in 1827, and Blanco addresses the city’s Mayor in a public YouTube video. He states his reasoning for the ask is ‘so that we can...

The Centre of Fine Arts in Brussels announced the celebration of the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven by posting a portrait of the composer as a black African man. The centre, also known as BOZAR, published a post on Wednesday of a still from a video entitled “Black Beethoven” by American artist Terry Adkins, which features a portrait of the late 18th and early 19th-century composer depicted a young black man with dreadlocks. “In the work, Adkins presents a portrait of the iconic composer that slowly morphs into that of a young black man with short dreadlocks and back...

Has the 19th-century German composer Ludwig van Beethoven become a modern symbol of "exclusion and elitism" for rich, white men? In an article published by Vox on Tuesday that quoted New York Philharmonic clarinetist Anthony McGill, writers Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding argued that the work has been propped up by white, wealthy men, whose embrace of the musical composition stood as a symbol of "their superiority and importance." Vox is not the only left-leaning outlet pushing to examine the racial makeup of classical music composers. In July, the New York Times published a lengthy article that accused the world...

Twitter users are debating whether or not Beethoven was black after a blog post about the subject resurfaced online. ... In the post on The Concordian, the author said: "I am no Beethoven expert, but bringing up this topic is important. While getting to the bottom of the truth about Beethoven's race will change nothing about the supreme quality of his music, it will open up dialogue about the massive effects of European colonialism that promote racism still today. .. However, there is no evidence of Beethoven's race aside from portraits that suggest that he was white, and the blog...

What an accomplished Maestro! First, Economics Major. Then, Professional Bartender. Next up, United States Congresswoman. And now, without furthur Redo: Conductor of a Major Symphony...

The Rotterdam Philharmonic teamed up with a Dutch healthcare provider to film the finale of Beethoven’s 9th with all the musicians playing their parts by video from their homes. It’s an extraordinary achievement, overwhelming in the final minutes. If ever a video deserved to go viral, this is it. Share like crazy, please.

Kobe Bryant plays Moonlight Sonata. He taught himself this to show to his wife. A tribute to a legend, a union of sports and music in one man. Director : Brandon Nicholas DP: Zach Voytas Featuring: The Luring Quartet Winner of a 2014 Bronze Telly Award We had a very narrow window of time to shoot this promotional piece with Kobe. He arrived in the conference room at the Graves 106 Hotel in MN at 6:45pm and 20 minutes later he was gone. CLICK ABOVE LINK TO WATCH

A few notes scribbled in his notebook are all the German composer left of his symphony before his death in 1827. Now, a team of musicologists and programmers is racing to complete a version of the piece using sophisticated computer software to predict what Beethoven had planned.

Wishing all a glorious 4th! So grateful that President Trump is our President.

It is a rare piece of music — any kind of music — that can bolster good as well as evil intentions. One classical work in particular has an uncanny, seductive power to become exactly what its fans want it to be. When the Canadian Opera Company opened the doors to its new opera house in 2006, the gala concert included “Ode to Joy,” the last movement from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Music director Peter Oundjian has chosen the whole, 75-minute-long composition to cap and celebrate his 14 years with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on June 28, 29...

Beethovenhaus Baden has launched a campaign to restore a grand piano once played by Ludwig van Beethoven. The instrument in question was made by Conrad Graf between 1811 and 1818 and is an early example of his celebrated grand pianos. Unfortunately, the piano has suffered considerable damage over the years and is now unplayable. Beethovenhaus Baden has embarked on an ambitious project to restore the instrument to its original glory in time for 2020—the 250th Anniversary of the composer’s birth. The piano will then once more be available for concerts.

Today is the 210th anniversary of the greatest concert of all time. Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808 "The Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808 was a benefit concert held for Ludwig van Beethoven at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna that featured the public premieres of Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Choral Fantasy." H/T to my friend Matthew B. Tepper for calling attention to this.

This expresses the absolute joy I feel whenever I remember - a thousand times a day - that Donald Trump is the president of the United States. And thanks to all who uparrowed Nessun Dorma for Trump. It's recently gotten two downarrows, but we're still winning!

Beethoven and the Catholic Church MICHAEL DE SAPIO Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart form the great trinity of Western classical composers. Of the three, it is Beethoven whose religious beliefs have proven the most elusive.  We know all about the devout Lutheranism of Bach, who wrote his music "for the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul"; and Mozart was a practicing Catholic, as his letters make clear.  Beethoven, by contrast, was reticent about expressing his religious convictions.  He is often portrayed as a child of the secular-humanist Enlightenment — a freethinking individualist...