Beethoven Symphonies Conducted by Ivan Fischer

Drawing is by my brother, Alex Katsenelson. Prints available on ArtistUSA.com.

I’d like to share with you a terrific interview with Hungarian conductor Ivan Fischer. He shows different sides of Beethoven. I love how he provides little, unique insights into the composer.

He explains how, before Beethoven, music was composed mostly for the aristocracy. Beethoven’s music was more powerful and very different from the music that had come before. Beethoven called his Third Symphony Eroica (“Heroic”). It is about a hero – none other than Napoleon. Beethoven had been favorably impressed by Napoleon’s efforts to reform society so that the working classes could enjoy more equality.

Here is Ivan Fischer conducting Beethoven’s symphonies:

Third, Eroica, Symphony:

Fourth Symphony:

Fifth Symphony:

Seventh Symphony:

Ninth Symphony: