Beethoven: Behind the Music - (Music Appreciation Series)

Additional registrants can only avail of a booking for Online participation. All "In Person" places are sold out.

Beethoven: Behind the Music

A 5‑Week Music Appreciation Series with RIAM Director Deborah Kelleher

Participants can register for either "In-Person" or "Online" (via Zoom) participation.

Please note that the course will not be recorded, therefore online participation is only possible as a live online option.

Please also check out our second Autumn Music Appreciation Course: Music in 18th-Century Dublin (with Art & Music Historian Adrian Le Harivel) 

This course includes a FREE 'Access All Areas' Ticket to Student Performances as part of RIAM’s Beethoven 200 Season in 2027

Join RIAM Director Deborah Kelleher for a compelling five‑week journey into the mind and music of one of history’s most revolutionary composers.

Beethoven: Behind the Music pulls back the curtain on the artistry, vision, and innovation that transformed Western music. From the intimacy of the piano sonatas to the monumental energy of the symphonies, discover why this composer above all is Deborah’s “Desert Island” choice.

This series includes a complimentary “Access All Areas” season ticket, giving you free entry to a rich programme of Beethoven performances by RIAM students throughout 2027.

Designed as the perfect overture to this anniversary year, the series will deepen your knowledge of the very works you’ll later hear on our stages. Expect illuminating insights, lively listening, and a fresh perspective on the masterpieces shaping our Beethoven 200 celebrations.

Course Program:

Session 1: The Solo Piano Music 

Explore the bold imagination and emotional depth of Beethoven’s piano writing through his solo sonatas, from early classical brilliance to the stormy, boundary‑breaking works that reshaped the instrument’s possibilities. (25th September 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM)

Session 2: Chamber Music

From string quartets to piano trios, delve into Beethoven’s laboratories of innovation, where some of his most intimate yet radical musical ideas first took shape. (2nd October 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM)

Session 3: Vocal Works 

Discover the expressive world of Beethoven’s songs, choral writing, and dramatic vocal works, revealing a composer deeply engaged with text, theatre, and human storytelling. (9th October 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM)

Session 4: Concerti

Survey the concerti that redefined the relationship between soloist and orchestra - brilliant, virtuosic, and epic in scale. (16th October 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM)

Session 5: Symphonies 

Enter the realm of Beethoven’s symphonic revolution, the works that changed musical history and continue to speak powerfully to audiences today. (23rd October 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM)

Prerequisites

Participants must be 18+

Participants must have a Laptop, PC or tablet with pre-installed Zoom, as well as a stable internet connection to participate in the "Online" course option.

Tutors

Deborah Kelleher (Director, RIAM)