{
  "slug": "ludwig-van-beethoven",
  "name": "Ludwig van Beethoven",
  "description": "Ludwig van Beethoven appears 4 times in our Classical Period and Romantic lists, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.",
  "updated": "2026-08-30",
  "url": "https://waxonia.com/artist/ludwig-van-beethoven/",
  "appearanceCount": 4,
  "distinctRecordings": 4,
  "years": {
    "first": 1801,
    "last": 1824
  },
  "highestPlacing": {
    "rank": 1,
    "list": "Classical Period"
  },
  "appearsOn": [
    {
      "kind": "genre",
      "slug": "classical-period",
      "name": "Classical Period",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/classical-period/",
      "entries": 3
    },
    {
      "kind": "genre",
      "slug": "romantic",
      "name": "Romantic",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/romantic/",
      "entries": 1
    }
  ],
  "tracks": [
    {
      "trackKey": "ludwig-van-beethoven--symphony-no-5-in-c-minor",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/ludwig-van-beethoven--symphony-no-5-in-c-minor/",
      "title": "Symphony No. 5 in C minor",
      "year": 1808,
      "label": null,
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Four notes, and a forty-minute argument about what can be built from them. The most famous opening in music is also the most thoroughly worked-out, which is not a coincidence.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20Symphony%20No.%205%20in%20C%20minor",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hv-F6LZ1sJk",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 1,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "classical-period",
        "name": "Classical Period",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/classical-period/"
      },
      "artist": "Ludwig van Beethoven"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "ludwig-van-beethoven--symphony-no-9-in-d-minor",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/ludwig-van-beethoven--symphony-no-9-in-d-minor/",
      "title": "Symphony No. 9 in D minor",
      "year": 1824,
      "label": null,
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A choir in a symphony, which was not done, singing Schiller in praise of universal brotherhood. Beethoven was too deaf to hear the applause and had to be turned around to see it.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20Symphony%20No.%209%20in%20D%20minor",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iOAzVcFJVTE",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 1,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "romantic",
        "name": "Romantic",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/romantic/"
      },
      "artist": "Ludwig van Beethoven"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "ludwig-van-beethoven--symphony-no-3-in-e-flat-eroica",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/ludwig-van-beethoven--symphony-no-3-in-e-flat-eroica/",
      "title": "Symphony No. 3 in E-flat \"Eroica\"",
      "year": 1804,
      "label": null,
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Twice the length of any symphony before it, and the dedication to Napoleon scratched out so hard it tore the page. The single clearest break between one era and the next.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20Symphony%20No.%203%20in%20E-flat%20%22Eroica%22",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20Symphony%20No.%203%20in%20E-flat%20%22Eroica%22",
          "exact": false
        }
      },
      "rank": 4,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "classical-period",
        "name": "Classical Period",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/classical-period/"
      },
      "artist": "Ludwig van Beethoven"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "ludwig-van-beethoven--piano-sonata-no-14-moonlight",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/ludwig-van-beethoven--piano-sonata-no-14-moonlight/",
      "title": "Piano Sonata No. 14 \"Moonlight\"",
      "year": 1801,
      "label": null,
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A first movement marked to be played with the dampers raised throughout, so the harmonies smear into one another. Nobody called it Moonlight until after he was dead.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Ludwig%20van%20Beethoven%20Piano%20Sonata%20No.%2014%20%22Moonlight%22",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=B2LcJTqwVug",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 6,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "classical-period",
        "name": "Classical Period",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/classical-period/"
      },
      "artist": "Ludwig van Beethoven"
    }
  ],
  "curates": null
}