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MusicPart of Humanities

Norris Beethoven App is Editor's Choice

Published: 20 May 2013
Ludvig Van Beethoven

A new app devoted to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is Editors Choice in the US and China iTunes store. The app features specially commissioned synchronised commentary, book, and in depth musical analysis by Southampton's Professor David Owen Norris.

The app, produced by TouchPress and Deutsche Grammophon, includes four of DG’s greatest recordings of this iconic work, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, John Eliot Gardiner, Ferenc Fricsay and Herbert von Karajan. Users can listen while following the score, reading Norris's commentary, following Beethoven's 1825 manuscript or using the graphical BeatMap that highlights every note in each of the four performances. The app includes two hours of specially-shot interviews with conductors and musicians such as Gustavo Dudamel, John Eliot Gardiner and Suzy Klein, offering an engaging perspective on what the work means to people around the world. It is a ground-breaking way of understanding music, offering the ability to compare interpretations and add layers of explanation, with the possibility of switching instantly between recordings on-the-fly.

Norris continues his work as expert guide to musical understanding during this summer's Proms, presenting a feature called Chord of the Week in the BBC Proms magazine programme every Saturday during the season.

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