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Donald Macleod selects highlights of conversations he's had with performers over the course of this year's 125 editions of Composer of the Week devoted to Beethoven, about how they bring the composer's music to life.

Composer of the Week has this year, every alternate week, explored the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. In this, the final week of 25 series devoted to the extraordinary composer, Donald Macleod looks back over the year, and presents his personal highlights from the interviews he carried out over the course of 125 programmes. From historian Simon Schama to conductors Marin Alsop and John Eliot Gardiner, and pianists Jonathan Biss and Angela Hewitt, Donald was joined by experts and performers who gave remarkable insights into the unique human being that was Beethoven. This week he brings together some of the conversations that stayed with him, building a picture of Beethoven the man, the composer, the interpretation of his music since his death, the times he lived in, and what he means to us today.

Donald Macleod selects his personal highlights of conversations he's had with performers over the course of this year, about how they bring Beethoven's music to life. From the choices they make about the type of instruments to play, to their interpretation of the spiritual dimension of some of his music, Ronald Brautigam, Rachel Nicholls, Chi-chi Nwanoku, Edward Dusinberre and Angela Hewitt reveal how they approach the composer's notes on the page.

Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37 - 2nd movement: Largo
Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano
Kolner Akademie
Michael Alexander Willens, conductor

Fidelio
Act 2 Nr 14 Quartet : Er sterbe! & Recit.
Act 2 Nr 15 Duet : O namenlose Freude!
Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Don Pizarro), bass-baritone
Jessye Norman (Leonore), soprano
Reiner Goldberg (Florestan), tenor
Kurt Moll (Rocco), bass
Chor der Staatsoper Dresden
Staatskapelle Dresden
Bernard Haitink, conductor

String Quartet No 16 in F, Op 135 - 3rd movement: Lento assai, cantate e tranquillo
Takács Quartet

Sonata No 26 in E flat, Op 81A (Les adieux) - The Absence & The Reunion
Angela Hewitt, piano