The British Library has launched its online exhibition to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with a special ‘Discovering Music’ space on the composer, drawing on items in its collection ranging from manuscripts and sketchbooks to Beethoven’s tuning fork.
Our Head of Music, Dr Mark Berry, has contributed an article on the Pastoral Symphony, for which the Library holds an important sketchbook, and Beethoven’s relationship to Nature. Mark has also recently written a more personal essay on ‘My Beethoven’ for the Cross-Eyed Pianist blog, looking at his own life with Beethoven and the deafness the world has shown to the famously deaf composer in this anniversary, pandemic year.
To access more information and the exhibition itself, please click here.