Inspired by the big screen release of Chevalier, telling the story of the black composer, violin virtuoso and swordsman Joseph Bologne, Limelight trawls the streamers and DVD shelves for more cinematic explorations of the lives of classical music greats, from Beethoven to von Bingen, from Chopin to Stravinsky.

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Gary Oldman in Immortal Beloved. Photo supplied

Part biography, part puzzle, Bernard Rose’s feature film is inspired by a letter discovered after Beethoven’s death addressed only to his “immortal beloved”.

But who was it?

This film has its theory, but the letter is a McGuffin, really – a way into Beethoven’s mind, soul and most importantly, his music. Gary Oldman’s central performance is a stormily memorable one (backed up by some very good supporting players, most notably Isabella Rossellini) but it’s the music that really grabs you. Rather than rely on extant recordings, Rose hired Sir Georg Solti as musical supervisor for the film and the London Symphony Orchestra to record the score with soloists including Murray Perahia and Yo-Yo Ma.

A good one to catch up with prior to Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s unleashing of Beethoven’s Symphonies in...