How Beethoven compositions influence modern music

DW (English)

Traces of Ludwig van Beethoven’s compositions can still be heard in today’s music, from pop all the way to Afrobeats. This explainer walks you through how deep the classical musician’s influence continues to go.

Transcript

00:00200 years ago Ludwig van Beethoven was already recognized as a musical genius. If he were

00:13alive today he no doubt would have been ecstatic at how music he developed has

00:19been reinterpreted across the world. Today many African orchestras and

00:27composers remain inspired by Beethoven's works and at this year's Beethoven fest

00:33we saw even more innovation and interpretations from hip and cool as

00:38proven by the band Bantu

00:45to traditional classics with an added African twist

00:57and the great fella Kuti was not left behind. His famous track Colonial

01:07Mentality which tackles themes of social justice was featured as a treat at the

01:13Beethoven fest. So this mix doesn't just make African music richer it actually

01:20pushes classical music in a new direction too and African musicians are

01:26constantly coming up with fresh sounds that honor their roots while connecting

01:32to music all over the world. And that's pretty awesome!

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