Adventures with Beethoven

Online Learning Series
launching soon!

This year we celebrate the 250th birthday of one of the “Three Bs” of classical music. Along with Johannes Brahms and Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven is part of our shared cultural experience. Even if you have never stepped foot in a concert hall, you probably know some of Beethoven’s music; from Fate knocking at the door in Symphony No. 5, to a piano student working through the famous Für Elise to the triumphant emotion of “Ode to Joy.” Beethoven changed classical music forever by putting his own thoughts and emotions into each work. We can see his admiration for the egalitarian promise of the French Revolution and his dashed hopes when Napoleon turns out to be just another king. We hear the despair in his music as he struggles with profound hearing loss, family drama, and unrequited love. Although he was a genius, we can relate to his music emotionally. He has written the soundtrack that encircles us in times of despair, but also infuses our moments of elation.

Over the course of our online Adventures with Beethoven, you will learn about Beethoven, his family, his music, and his legacy. Read the first part for an introduction to Beethoven and his life. Explore further and read the additional sections, if you want to learn more. There are listening and video links as well as activities at the end of each “scene”. However you choose to use this material, hopefully you will come away with a better understanding of Beethoven and why, 250 years later, he’s still relevant and why his music is still so loved.

Series Presenter

Mandy Walters Whitaker is a historical musicologist and oboist. She earned Bachelor’s degrees in oboe performance and music history at the University of Utah, and a Master’s degree in historical musicology at the University of Kansas. Her research areas include Russian music and the music of Leonard Bernstein. She has been the program note annotator for the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra since 2016 and annotator and community educator for the Skagit Symphony since 2018. Mandy is a substitute member of the Skagit Symphony, performs with Esprit Joyeux flute quartet, and teaches private oboe and flute lessons. Mandy is also involved with her church and volunteers at her children’s schools.