Mother, Maksim Gorki

‘Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and yet cannot remain silent’, wrote Victor Hugo in 1864. Half a century later, his words had never felt more pertinent. Every composer writing during World War I found a unique way, through their music, to describe and protest against the horrors that were tearing civilization apart.

The year 1802 proved to be a year of true challenge for Beethoven, as he finally realized that his decline into deafness was irreversible. However, in this year Beethoven composed some of his most radiant and life-affirming works in that period. Possibly as part of the determination to push the boundaries of his art in pursuit of solace and fulfillment, Beethoven demonstrates a remarkable stylistic shift between the Op. 12 and the Op. 30 Sonatas (written in 1801–2, published in 1803).