(FORTUNE Magazine) – Educational CD-ROMs can make learning a pleasure for both adults and older children. This one, Multimedia Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony (Voyager Co., $80), contains an overview of the most famous symphony ever written along with a biography of the composer that places the work in historical context. As the Vienna Philharmonic plays the four movements of the symphony, the text on the screen provides a running commentary that even a fairly sophisticated music lover can learn from. When a fugue is introduced, for example, the program allows you to stop the symphony and play the separate subjects and counter-subjects that make up the fugue. Or you can highlight passages and have the program repeat the theme or an individual harmonic line -- a boon to budding orchestral players. Also included: a game that tests your knowledge of the music.