John Taylor is a creature of habit and is never happier than being within the safety and familiarity of his own four walls. The outside world, its noises, excesses, people, and problems are too much for this person who puts together puzzles. That’s right, Taylor creates crosswords (among other brain teasers) and does it under the name “Ludwig.”
Beethoven is a big part of Taylor’s world. He has consoled himself with Beethoven’s music ever since he was a child (his father abandoned him one New Year’s Eve), and it is no exaggeration to say that he feels a strong affinity with the composer.
So when Taylor is torn from his regular life to help his sister-in-law uncover the truth behind her twin brother’s disappearance, his world changes forever. To help, he has to pretend to be his brother’s detective, and in doing so finds himself having to solve a series of murders. perfect puzzle.
Ludwig – Trailer (BBC)
Ludwig is the brainchild of Mark Brotherhood (Death in Paradise) and stars David Mitchell as the titular Beethoven fanatic. Anyone who enjoyed the series on BBC One or iPlayer will have heard the music by composers Nathan Klein and Finn Keene, which pays homage to Beethoven.
Their music takes Beethoven as its starting point, with a hint of melody here and a harmonic progression there. It gives music-minded audiences the opportunity to solve their own classical music puzzles. But what is the hidden Beethoven piece in Ludwig? And how did Klein and Keene work together to create one of the most puzzling TV pieces of music this year? We spoke to Nathan Klein to find out. Please note that this contains spoilers, both musically and narratively.
This kind of project is a bit of a gift for composers, isn’t it?
When we first read the script, we were both very excited. Because this is not just a reference to Beethoven. The identity of the main character is completely intertwined with him and at really important moments in his life. In episode one, he’s processing a really traumatic moment and turns to Beethoven for safety and comfort, but obviously he also turns to Beethoven for inspiration. Because that's what he uses to create his first puzzle. So there’s a connection there and it’s not something that's taken lightly and we felt like we needed to do it. If you didn’t include Beethoven when writing the score, that might be a bit of a problem.
Was the idea of incorporating Beethoven’s music into the score presented to you when you joined the company, or did you come up with it yourself?
That was something I threw at it when we first met. I don’t know if someone else suggested it or if I had already thought of it, but it seems like that’s why we were asked to do it. We drew some small sketches on some of Beethoven’s themes. One of them was “Für Elise,” which ended up opening the entire show. So it made me feel like the important music game was there from the beginning and that it was definitely going to work.
Was it difficult to maintain ideas?
That was a real challenge. In a way, I was a little worried. Because when you’re composing a show, you can just sit back and look at the scene, feel it, and think, “Okay, let’s do this music.” And it’s almost easier to do it intuitively. On the other hand, if you want a link with Beethoven, you will be setting very difficult parameters for yourself.
If it was a very loose link, we might have expanded on its parameters, but at least we were inspired by it in some way. There may be small amounts of harmony, short motifs, or just rhythm. As a result, some queues have loose connections. But it was definitely difficult to approach it that way, at least at first. Once I felt like I’d done an episode or two, things became easier because I had a sense of the palette and how it worked – once I found the theme, I could mix it with other shows. In the same way you found your language. But it sure was tough.
How did you come up with the final set of Beethoven works?
There was a lot of discussion. As we sat at the piano and played various Beethoven pieces, we thought about it emotionally and thought about what role it would play in the story and scenes. It was an instinctive feeling as to how it would work.
Initially, we wanted to use other parts of the Ninth Symphony, especially the second movement (used in A Clockwork Orange), which was very exciting and thriller-ish. We thought about using it for all the thriller elements of the score to really create this energy, but we just couldn’t bring it in. I mean, that’s definitely something we tried. Eventually you’ll need to put it in a scene, sculpt it into a scene, and see if it works.
Did you set a single Beethoven musical theme to run through each episode?
We sat down and tried to find at least one new piece to be the central theme of each episode. In some cases, it comes from a “cold open.” The episode opens with a murder, a bit of a set piece with no dialogue. So I tried to find something that would fit with that, because music has to do a lot of heavy lifting.
For example, in episode 2, we tried Beethoven’s Fifth for the manor house chase, and it worked really well. And that’s what the rest of the episode is about.
Episode 3 was the “Moonlight” sonata that was given to us in the libretto, and it went really well with all the organ pieces. It was an incredibly emotional story, so it felt right, even though it was more of an emotional story.
Episode 4 is the first movement of Symphony No. 9, and episode 5 is the Coriolan Overture, and I felt that there were parts that resonated with the story. John himself is also serving society and becoming a bit of a hero. Beethoven’s music is not necessarily programmatic, although the title may suggest something programmatic.
And in the last episode I used the “Eroica” symphony, because he really is a hero. We named one of our trucks “Puzzling Hero.” This is the moment he saves Lucy. He really has to mobilize all of his mental abilities to get her out of a very difficult situation. I think it creates a lot of richness and I love giving things an extra level of meaning. There’s a bit of thought behind every moment, even at the sound level.
You created your own musical puzzle for your audience… did you expect people to want to join in with your musical dots?
That was the first thing we discussed. Because for some people, keeping track of all this can be really fun. I received a lot of messages saying that it was a lot of fun, which made me even more excited. Obviously we didn’t want to alienate anyone. This is a show for a wide audience and it had to follow the story. We couldn’t just give people a musical puzzle. That was the challenge, but I hope we can accomplish both. I hope it’s fun for this additional reason, but it still lends to drama.
If there’s a second series, will you feel even more pressure to keep weaving in these musical references and make things even more complex?
I think it would be interesting if there was a series in the future.”I would like to explore these connections further. Fortunately, Beethoven wrote a huge amount of great music. I think it will be a lot of fun. There are many more that you may have already used.
Please tell us about the use of orchestral music and synthesizers in the score. Do the two soundworlds have a narrative function?
We wanted to make sure the score was more than just an orchestra, which is especially important given its Beethoven inspiration. We wanted to take Beethoven’s ideas and recompose them, creating an atmosphere that represented a new musical language, so it was important to incorporate instruments outside of the orchestra. The big one we used was a prepared piano. We tried muting the strings or putting something on top of the strings, but we felt that would really annoy John. He is a very unconventional person and the idea of playing the piano the wrong way grinds his gears.
The first episode in particular is all about him stepping out of his comfort zone and being exposed. You really see that when he goes through the police station for the first time. We called it “station disorientation” because he is really overwhelmed by the environment. The sound designers did a great job creating it, and I wish we could do the same with the music. It was mainly prepared piano and some unusual percussion.
We wanted to bring in synthesizers because it reminded him of the ’80s when he and his brothers were growing up. He lives a strange life that blends his life with his brother’s, so I thought that would be an interesting element to look back on. It also felt like a really good way to modernize the score. I wanted it to feel like a modern palette.
What was the process like for the two of you to work together to create the score?
We sketched at the piano, picked a theme, then split up to work on the sketch, then got back together to evaluate it, make changes and come up with different ideas. I’ve done a lot of co-writing, and it’s very varied. Sometimes they are in the same room, and sometimes they are separated. But in Finn’s case, he works a lot in pop music, so he’s almost always in the room when he’s working with vocalists, top lines, or other producers. So he’s very used to being in a room and really coming up with ideas and experimenting. I did a fair amount of that, but much less than he did.
So it was really nice for me to be with someone that I’m used to doing things like that with. Composing music can be a very solitary process, and it can be easy to get stuck in your head and guard your ideas. It seems like a beautiful and liberating thing to share that with someone. We’ve been friends for 12-13 years, so we feel safe and feel that if something happens that we don’t like, we won’t break up. The most positive thing I’ve done in my career so far is co-write with people. Whenever I talk to people who are just starting out and are looking for advice, I always tell them it’s all about collaboration with other musicians. I think film and TV composers start out thinking they need to meet a lot of directors and producers, but I think it’s more important to meet and work with other composers.
What Beethoven piece did you enjoy playing with the most?
I think episode 6, “Eroica”, was definitely the most interesting. It’s such a great melody that I put it in a minor key for the opening sequence. Beethoven did it himself in his development, but the part that everyone knows best is the major version, and we do it in the minor key. It’s become really versatile and flexible, and Episode 6 is just a never-ending “Eroica”, but it never became tiring or boring.
Ludwig currently appears on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK. Nathan Cline and Finn Keene’s album is available for streaming wherever you enjoy music, courtesy of Silva Screen Records. Listen on Apple. Listen on Spotify.
Ludwig – Music that inspired the music of the BBC series (Spotify playlist)
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