Beethoven 7 is what got me going on classical music in the early 70s and I've never looked back. The Andante movement is a miracle, I agree. Over the decades I've come to see the Pastoral as his symphonic masterpiece. There are so many bad versions of it around, unfortunately, especially ones that make the finale so lugubrious. For me, head and shoulders above the rest, is the performance given by Carlos Kleiber with the Bavarian State Orchestra. The orchestra recorded all its live performances, but on this occasion the tape was damaged. Miraculously, this concert was also recorded on to a C90 cassette, but it's scrubbed up well considering. Not too many allowances have to be made unless you're an audiophilic nit-picker. It was the only time in his life that he conducted the Pastoral. If you're used to those versions that go oh-so-slowly this one comes as a surprise, though he is actually adhering to Beethoven's tempo markings. It's a miracle!

What keeps Beethoven at the top of my list is mainly his late music, those five quartets, the last few piano sonatas and the Diabelli Variations. I love all the symphonies, and the Violin Concerto and the Emperor Concerto are miraculous. If you have ten minutes to spare listen to Daniel Barenboim playing the little Op. 78 sonata on Youtube. It's a wrestling match at the top for me between Beethoven and Mozart. I know a lot of Bach but I need to delve a lot more into all those cantatas and set time aside to get into those Passions. I went to a performance of the Matthew Passion many years ago. The performance had a lunch break in the middle! :-)

As for have/got/gotten, if any means of expression is common currency there's no longer a fight to be had. Mourn if you want, but mourn quietly.

Right in the middle of my typing this post, Radio 3 played Bach's Cantata no 89!