Each of the string ensembles on the Beethoven String Quartet Marathon shared some of their thoughts on the pieces they are playing and about what Beethoven means to them.

Itzhak Perlman recorded the Beethoven Violin Concerto in 1981, when he was in his breathtaking playing prime. Everything is melody in this sprightly and lyrical interpretation.

"Michelangelo is to art what Beethoven is to music," writes Fred Plotkin. "Beethoven’s music is so life-affirming and we get a sense of the greatness of human potential in his music and in Michelangelo’s art."

This recording of Beethoven's choral masterpiece was made in the very week the Berlin Wall came down, and as conductor John Eliot Gardiner later maintained, that seemed to heighten the spiritual experience.

We continue our ongoing look at the 25 essential Beethoven albums with the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet, which plays the Op. 18 quartets with youthful panache and Germanic rigor.

The Soviet parternship of Sviatoslav Richter, Mstilav Rostropovich and David Oistrakh came together with the Berlin Philharmonic and conductor Herbert von Karajan in 1969 for Beethoven's Triple Concerto.

It's pretty much the consensus view that these are the greatest modern recordings of the two symphonies.

We're especially impressed with English pianist Paul Lewis's interpretations of Beethoven's middle-period works including the "Waldstein" Sonata.

“Majestic,” “metaphysical” and “transcendent” are some of the words critics usually reach for when describing this 1962 account of Beethoven's Fidelio.

For nearly 40 years, this recording by Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy has been the benchmark for the “Kreutzer” and “Spring” Sonatas.

Today, WQXR brings you a marathon of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, played in order. As an appetizer, get a free download of the "Waldstein" Sonata.

It's easy to imagine that, had he been alive in contemporary times, Beethoven's greatness might have transcended the musical score and onto the big screen. Enter our giveaway.

This recording – containing four of Beethoven's named sonatas – provides an excellent introduction to the unique music-making of Rudolf Serkin.

This Sunday, Nov. 4, you can still enjoy a marathon — of Beethoven's nine symphonies, in order. In the meantime, get a free download.