Beethoven’s Long Shadow

Did you know that the first compact discs were designed to record seventy-five minutes of music so that Beethoven’s the Ninth Symphony could be played through without interruption?! ” A phenomenon of dazzling and disconcerting force. (Beethoven) not only left his mark on all subsequent composers but also molded entire institutions. “

In this feature from The New Yorker, music critic Alex Ross takes a look at some recent biographies about Beethoven and assesses his extraordinary influence on classical music as we know it in the 21st century.