Season 1

First episode in a three-part documentary series, marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, that focuses on the real, complex and often difficult man behind the great composer.

A look at how the composer's return to the town of Heiligenstadt led to one of the most extraordinary outpourings of creativity in the history of music, from the earth-shattering Eroica through to Symphony No. 7, while his repeated failed attempts to find love resulted in the famous Immortal Beloved letter found after his death.

As Beethoven embarks on the extraordinary flowering of his late music, his health deteriorates and his desire for love and family tips over into obsession.