Now this is what I call a Beethoven festival...


These are selected pages from the programme in my collection for the 1961 London Beethoven Festival. They are a salutary reminder of what we have lost: not just in legendary musicians but also in music journalism - the programme notes were written by Ernest Newman and William Mann. Otto Klemperer's recorded Beethoven cycle with the Philharmonia may lack Mirga-appeal; but it is still one of the great achievements of recorded music and is available at a bargain price. (Click on the pages to enlarge them. They may still not be legible on a phone; but you can't appreciate Beethoven on a phone anyway.)


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