Publisher, Naxos Audiobooks (January 2002)

Classics Explained is a series exploring, in words and music, the major classical works of the concert hall. In an accessible and lively manner, Jeremy Siepmann looks at the history and the form of the great masterpieces of western music.

The warmest and perhaps the most beloved of all Beethoven's nine symphonies, the so-called 'Pastoral' is a festival of enchantment from beginning to end. Though pictorial in many of its images and in the titles given to each movement, Beethoven stressed that the symphony was 'more an expression of feelings than a painting'. The feelings it arouses in the listener are of continuous joy and wonder, but the craft behind them is hardly less wonderful. Here we explore the piece from the inside out, discovering just how this magnificent musical oak grows from the tiniest of acorns and encountering in the process one of the greatest magicians in musical history.

'No-one understood better than Beethoven that if you want to have the listener's whole attention you might as well grab it at the outset.' Thus begins Jeremy Siepmann in his illuminating exploration of Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony, here taking a brief overview of Beethoven's symphonic openings before focusing exclusively on No. 6. The most expansive and relaxed of the symphonies, the 'Pastoral' has 'magic wherever you listen' - 2 CDs and 5 movements later, we understand why......

Classics Explained

"The series aims to provide an informed analysis of the great masterpieces of Western music and I imagine that secondary and high school teachers will find this disc a useful resource. Adult listeners who want an explanation of the music given by a knowledgeable musicologist will also welcome it." --The Strad

We listen to and enjoy music, with its melodies, rhythms, colour, excitement, and rich emotions. But how and why did the composer imagine the music as he wrote it? This enlightening series unravels the mysteries of Western music's greatest masterpieces. In each recording, musical extracts and lively narration are skillfully interwoven to explore the circumstances of composition and how the various ideas and themes are combined to make the enduring whole.