The famous podcast’s debut at Royal Albert Hall prompts us to rethink two of the greatest composers in history
Well received by millions, The Rest Is History is a popular podcast that delves into fascinating historical events and figures with a lively, conversational approach. This time at the Royal Albert Hall, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the lives of two most famous composers throughout history: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.
The two-hour experience is a full-flavoured blend of their life stories and “anecdotes”, insightful analysis, as well as humour. For instance, Tom and Dominic vividly illustrate Beethoven’s relation with Napoléon Bonaparte – admiring him at first and intending to dedicate his Symphony No. 3 to him as a champion of democracy and equality, only to feel betrayed by Napoléon’s self-coronation. He ferociously scratched out Napoleon’s name from the title page of the score.
This incident actually highlights the influences of Enlightenment ideals on Beethoven, but Tom and Dominic wittily interweave the fact that Beethoven did compose The Battle Symphony dedicated to Arthur Wellesley to celebrate his victory over Napoleon in 1813, drawing loud, knowing laughter from the audience.
Such a method of engaging storytelling seamlessly fuses with the live orchestra music performed by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Philharmonia Chorus, conducted by Oliver Zeffman. The programme features a mix of the composers’ most iconic works, including Mozart’s Symphony No.25 and Requiem, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and No. 9, as well as their lesser-known ones. For instance, Mozart’s Violin Sonata No. K304 is a delicate piece written shortly after his mother’s death. As Mozart’s music is often described as joyful, elegant and light, this composition exquisitely manoeuvres woe and melancholy interweaved within the notes.
In Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony No. 6, you may astonishingly find that Beethoven incorporates several compositional techniques that Mozart mastered, such as the graceful and beautiful flowing themes featuring lyricism, and the prominent use of wind instruments for tone painting.
The Rest is History: Mozart and Beethoven draws interesting parallels between the two, revealing that both composers are very contingent on their own times: the economic background, the war affairs, and the cultural development such as the Romantic movement and the Enlightenment. While Mozart is celebrated as a Genius with the capital G, Beethoven elevates music as Art with the capital A. While Mozart basically functioned a servant to the aristocracy, Beethoven regarded them as clients – more his equals. These parallels not only show their different life circumstances, but also invite us to further reflect upon how our epistemologies of art and culture have been shaped and evolved.