Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Louis Spohr. Before he had reached the age of 30, Spohr's considerable talent was the talk of Europe. He had left his hometown in provincial Germany and secured a plum job in Vienna, then the centre of the musical universe. Once there, he composed a wide range of fine works, struck out on a concert tour of Europe and founded a great friendship with a chap by the name of Beethoven.