Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps

it. It's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream

van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Thanks for downloading the BBC Arts and Ideas podcast.

The conversation you're about to hear picks up on themes inspired by the summer's BBC proms concerts.

If you're moved to listen to the music, you can find every concert broadcast on Radio 3 and BBC Sounds.

Now, over to the audience in the Imperial College Theatre

next to the Royal Albert Hall.

Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

It synthesises the words of great German poetry

and the revolutionary music of the romantic era.

But is Beethoven's Oatheuser's Oat-Joy or Andy Freide really that joyous? It seems a bit of an understatement

for music of this magnitude, doesn't it? Some hear the Ninth Symphony as a rallying cry for freedom,

the ecstasy of pure expression. Others find the thrust of its tones less jovial and, well, a bit aggressive.

Back in Beethoven's day, opinion was just as divided about the man himself.

This evening we'll hear from that era's men and women and what they really thought.

But not all from me, rather in their own words, brought alive by Stella

Gonae and Clive Hayward.

Beethoven's time, that's the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was especially creative.

So much so that those who witnessed it often ensured the facts didn't get in the way of their stories.

So if you're tuning in to escape fake news, I'm sorry, this program may disappoint you.

Or perhaps it may delight you, depending on how devious you are.

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