Beethoven’s genius was so bright that it would have shone forth in any day or age. Yet his impact on both his immediate contemporaries and posterity was greatly magnified by developments beyond his control. Using music, images and video clips, Tim Blanning shows how Beethoven benefited from being the right person in the right place at the right time.

Tim Blanning is the author of a number of major works on eighteenth century Europe, including The Pursuit of Glory : Europe 1648-1815, The Culture of Power and the Power of Culture and Joseph II. He is Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and a Fellow of the British Academy. His latest book, Frederick the Great, won the British Academy Medal 2016.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception in the Lubbock Room, Peterhouse, to 7:15 pm.

TICKETS ARE WITHOUT CHARGE, but should be booked online via the link above.