Beethoven, Missa Solemnis

With this majestic performance of Beethoven‘s Missa solemnis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt once again demonstrates why he is to be ranked as one of the very few truly significant musicians of our time. Created between 1819 and 1823, the Missa solemnis is the most extensive non-stage work that Beethoven wrote. This magnificent choral piece represented a great personal struggle for the composer, who famously inscribed the top of the score with the words “From the heart – may it return to the heart.” Tim Ashley, reviewing a repeat concert at London’s Barbican, wrote in The Guardian: “This shattering performance ranked among the greatest I have heard.”