WFMT looks back on Ludwig van Beethoven's most important works. Here is our ranking of the eminent composers top 10 most important compositions.
WFMT music director Oliver Camacho says: Fidelio is very important for the history of German opera, adding a political component to the well-worn Rescue Opera plot device while affirming the archetype of the Heroic German Woman. Leonora/Fidelio is one of the best characters in opera, and the homoerotic, gender-bending scenarios in which she finds herself is simultaneously very 'Baroque' while feeling of the current zeitgeist.
WFMT music director Oliver Camacho says: The Moonlight Sonata may be a cliché choice, but as a singer, the first movement feels like the best wordless Lied Beethoven never wrote. And the Presto agitato still thrills.
WFMT host and producer Robbie Ellis says::
​​The Pathétique sonata is I think Beethoven's best. It's the most cogent, all three movements have banger melodies, and the mood is "Listen up, world, I might join the 27 Club at any moment!" A solo piece can be personal in a way an orchestral piece can't.
Enjoy the full playlist for Beethoven's Top 10 works
Responses have been edited for length and clarity