Produced by 72 Films, the series follows previous installments on Mozart, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen. It charts Ludwig van Beethoven’s journey from an ambitious young virtuoso to a visionary composer, exploring his artistic triumphs alongside personal struggles—including his volatile temper, his search for a cure for his hearing loss, and his doomed romance with his “Immortal Beloved.”
Beginning at age 27, Beethoven experienced progressive hearing loss, ultimately becoming deaf by the time of his death in Vienna on 26 March 1827. To capture this experience, the production combines Beethoven’s written testimony, letters, and conversation books with innovative sound design.
The series draws on the expertise and lived experience of deaf individuals and organizations, including sign-language broadcaster LumoTV and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). On-screen interviewees include Jon Batiste, Sir Simon Russell Beale, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and Sir George Benjamin, while his musical masterpieces—from the Moonlight Sonata to the Fifth and Ninth Symphonies—are brought to life by musicians including Jeremy Denk, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Jonathan Biss, and Nicky Spence.
Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV, commented: “Beethoven is the musician who speaks most directly to the human soul… Our intention in this series was to shed new light on Beethoven’s astonishing creativity alongside the loss of his hearing, in an era where deafness was little understood.”
David Glover, co-founder and CEO of 72 Films, added: “He channels his deafness into his music and he uses his music to express his innermost feelings.”
Additional BBC programming for the 200th anniversary will include a special edition of You’re Dead to Me recorded at Southbank Centre and a Horrible Histories: Banging Beethoven Special on CBBC.
