Cosmos. Beethoven & Indian Ragas

“There is an indisputable historical link between Beethoven and Indian culture: in his quest to fathom the depths of this culture, and captivated by the translation of the Upanishads that was published in Germany in 1816, he immersed himself well and truly in these ancient texts, just as Schopenhauer did, or like Goethe discovering the great Persian poet Hafez when writing his last major collection, the West-Eastern Divan. We see here a mystical Beethoven, scrutinising Man and the cosmos and especially curious about other cultures.[…] Featured on this recording are two of his greatest sonatas: the ‘Moonlight’, op.27 no.2, and the ‘Appassionata’, op.57. This choice is deliberate and reflects their existential proximity, on the one hand to the Heiligenstadt Testament in which Beethoven confronts the idea of Death with that of Beauty which redeems and exalts, and on the other to the elements bound to Nature and the rhythm of time, mirroring the relationship of ragas to earthly and celestial dimensions.”