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Beethoven is a towering figure in classical music, beloved by the musical profession. At the same time, it is important to engage with the full diversity and range of his admirers in the 21st century. This series is not so much a classical examination of Beethoven, but rather an opening out and broader engagement with his work in a very modern context, demonstrating the extraordinary power of his work and its enduring influence.

253 years since Beethoven鈥檚 birth, an essay series that considers Beethoven now, in a thoroughly contemporary and highly personal context. Five eminent and unexpected thinkers respond to and share their personal interpretation of Beethoven, placing his influence in a modern framework. We invited Inua Ellams, Sophie Stone, Thangam Debbonnaire, Professor Andrew Biswell and Nitin Sawhney to share their kind of Beethoven with radio 3 listeners. Each Essayist offers a uniquely personal insight into the scope of Beethoven鈥檚 work.

What does Beethoven mean to you? We put that very simple question to a wide range of Essayists. The answers are unexpected, entertaining and informative.
鈥� Inua Ellams, poet and playwright

Inua has admired Beethoven since childhood and recently wrote a poem about his work. He says:

鈥淚 wanted to write about hip hop sampling classical music, loving Fur Elise when I was a kid, and how Beethoven / Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major Emperor helped me through a difficult breakup - which gave rise to the poem.鈥�

Born in Nigeria in 1984, Inau Ellams is an internationally touring poet, playwright, performer, graphic artists and designer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and his published books of poetry include Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars, Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales, the Wire-Haired Heathen, #Afterhours and The Half-God of Rainfall 鈥� an epic story in verse. His first play The 14th Tale was awarded a fringe first at the Edinburgh International Festival, and his fourth, Barber Shop Chronicles, sold out two runs at England鈥檚 National Theatre and toured the UK. His Three Sisters, set in Nigeria during the late 1960s Biafran succession, was a smash hit at England鈥檚 National Theatre in 2019. He toured An Evening with an Immigrant and completed his first full poetry collection The Actual. In graphic art and design, online and in print, he tries to mix the old with the new, juxtaposing texture and pigment with flat shades of colour and vector images.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2023, he was honoured with an MBE for Services To The Arts, and an Honorary Doctorate from University Of The Arts, London.

Producer, Polly Thomas
Executive producer, Eloise Whitmore

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