Heritage Records presents a new Beethoven symphony cycle exploring the fascination of Beethoven’s symphonic writing and its continued relevance today. Each CD in the series will be accompanied by a specially conceived DVD, in which Dirk Joeres illustrates Beethoven’s compositional genius, performing excerpts on the piano and commenting on snippets from the new recordings.

"What is it that still fascinates us about Beethoven’s Symphonies two hundred years after they were written? What is it that makes them still so special today? With this video, I would like to take you on a journey into Beethoven’s musical world. To do this it is necessary to discover a little about his compositional techniques. I believe that the more one knows, the more one hears and enjoys and so this series 'Beethoven Today' is intended for both experienced listeners and for people who perhaps want to explore Beethoven’s music for the first time." - Dirk Joeres

Dirk Joeres’s recordings have received superb reviews in the international music press: for example, Gramophone’s Critic’s Choice (Brahms Serenades with the Westdeutsche Sinfonia) and Pizzicato’s Supersonic Award for a Schumann CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. For more than 25 years the Westdeutsche Sinfonia has stood for "superb orchestral playing" (Gramophone magazine). BBC Music Magazine selected their recording of Johannes Brahms’s Serenades as one of their 100 Top CDs: "an irresistible release".

Taken from live performances