John Suchet

Classic FM presenter and former well-known journalist and newscaster John Suchet weaves together the story of his own life and that of Beethoven and explains how new information is throwing light on the composer’s life.

Suchet is an authority on Beethoven and he looks at new groundbreaking information about his health and his ancestry. He charts the composer’s story from his early time in Bonn to life in Vienna and interweaves Beethoven’s story with his own. Suchet says it is not easy to reconcile Beethoven’s genius with a deeply flawed individual. He says the music has been a companion through his best and worst times yet still finds it difficult to forgive Beethoven for the pain he caused those around him.

Suchet is well known for his career reporting on world events such as the Iran Revolution, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Lebanese civil war, and the Philippines Revolution. He was also a presenter of News at Ten and other ITN bulletins. After retiring from news, he became a presenter on Classic FM. In Search of Beethoven is his eighth book on the composer.