Andris Nelsons is leading the Concertgebouworkest in a programme dedicated to the intriguing mythological figure of Prometheus. He is conducting “Prométhée, le poème du feu”, a large-scale symphonic poem by Skrjabin scored not just for symphony orchestra, but also for piano and chorus, while a light organ provides colours to accompany the music. In the only ballet Beethoven ever wrote, “Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus”, Prometheus imparts art and civilisation to mankind. The conflict between the masses and a leader forms the basis of Brett Dean’s trumpet concerto “Dramatis personae”, which culminates in an exciting dialogue between soloist Håkan Hardenberger and the Concertgebouworkest. PROGRAM Beethoven: Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus; Skrjabin: Prométhée, le poème du feu; Dean: Dramatis personae
RCO: Herreweghe conducts Beethoven & Brahms
With Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, Philippe Herreweghe is highlighting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s most important function since ist founding, namely to perform the best works from the Classical and Romantic periods. Herreweghe joins forces here with star pianist Yefim Bronfman, the Russian-Israeli-American master who is known as a heavyweight, excelling in tumultuous works. Remarkably enough, Bronfman now turns to the subtlest and most tender of piano concertos that Beethoven composed.
RCO: Gatti conducts Beethoven & Brahms
Outstanding German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, who has been performing regularly with the RCO since 1990, collaborates once more with Daniele Gatti to great acclaim. Within the lush, energetic melodies of Beethoven’s immensely popular Violin Concerto the solo violinist showcases his artistry. Under Gatti’s guidance, “the coordination between orchestra and soloist is especially fine” (Bachtrack). It is followed by Brahms’ First Symphony. It took Brahms at least 14 years to complete it, as he battled self-doubt, when comparing it to Beethoven’s symphonies. The audience, however, gave the work the highest praise by dubbing it “Beethoven’s Tenth”. Gatti gives the score a reading of high drama, leading the RCO to a most convincing finale. “In an onslaught of inspiration, all musicians climbed to a level you rarely hear … An unforgettable evening!” (Het Parool). PROGRAM: Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Brahms: Symphony No. 1
RCO Opening Night 2016 – Daniele Gatti’s Inaugural Concert
The inaugural concert of Daniele Gatti as the new music director of Amsterdam’s fabled Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – only the seventh in its 128-year history. Together with baritone Christian Gerhaher, Gatti presented a bouquet of works including Mozart arias and the Wayfarer Songs by Gustav Mahler, with whom the “world’s best orchestra” (Gramophone international music critics’ poll) has a unique tradition going back to the composer himself – who called Amsterdam his “second musical home”. The programme also includes Respighi’s Fountains of Rome as well as overtures by Verdi and Beethoven – with 30 members of the Netherlands Youth Orchestra joining the RCO musicians for the Overture to Egmont.
RCO: Kerstmatinee – Beethoven No. 9
Beethoven’s moving Ninth Symphony is being performed on the 2019 Christmas Matinee (“Kerstmatinee“) under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst with a superb singer quartet. Many generations of listeners have attended the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s festive Christmas matinees since the tradition was founded. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is an appeal for universal brotherhood – indeed it contains some of the most moving music Beethoven ever composed. A large chorus and four vocal soloists share the stage with the orchestra to get this key message across and the work continues to enchant young and old alike.
Currentzis & Sasha Waltz: Beethoven No. 7 at the ancient theater of Delphi
In the ancient theater of Delphi, against the backdrop of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, musicAeterna, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, in conjunction with a new choreography by Sasha Waltz and her company. Beethoven completed the symphony in 1812. The premiere 1813 at the height of the wars of liberation was a patriotic event and an enormous success. Wagner’s bon mot of this Symphony as the “apotheosis of dance” is legendary. Thae fusion of the symphony with a
dance performance would certainly have been in the spirit of the grand master of this Gesamtkunstwerk. “Currentzis compares the 7th Symphony to classical, ancient architecture […] the original sound orchestra musicAeterna plays with an almost exemplary transparency.” Deutschlandfunk
MSO: Beethoven 9, Circa and Cheetham
The epic struggle for peace and ultimate triumphant bliss of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is physically embodied by ten world-class circus artists from Circa, Australia’s premier contemporary circus, in the Season Opening Gala of Melbourne Sypmphony Orchestra. This revolutionary world-first staging of Beethoven 9 is performed alongside a world premiere by revered Australian composer Deborah Cheetham. Her work “Dutalla, star filled sky” has been created in response to Beethoven’s Ninth.
BEETHOVEN at teamLab Tokyo
On the occasion of his anniversary year the Philharmonic Five bring Beethoven‘s timeless music to life in the extraordinary venue of teamLab Tokyo, the world’s first digital art museum on 10,000 square meters. Some 520 computers and 470 projectors power the digital artworks, which completely transform their physical space using animated graphics, colour and light. The Philharmonic Five, four soloists from the ranks of the Wiener Philharmoniker together with one of the most prolific pianists of our time, combine their sound aesthetics, the art of phrasing and virtuosity with a modern, powerful dynamic of expression and reinvent classical music. The arrangement in film and jazz music style emphasize Beethoven’s truly innovative spirit, and above all his talent for improvisation and his way of anticipating jazz and film music elements long before their birth. In the space of teamLab the Philharmonic Five create a completely new sensory and auditory impression of his oeuvre.
Zubin Mehta – 85th Birthday Concert
On April 29, 2021, the 85th birthday of his close friend and colleague Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim is hosting a very private birthday concert: the pianist, conductor and general music director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden hands over the direction of “his” orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, to the jubilarian with whom he has been friends for decades – in private and musical terms. On the program are Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with Daniel Barenboim as soloist and Franz Schubert’s last Symphony “The Great”. PROGRAM: Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4; Schubert: Symphony No. 9
Barenboim conducts Beethoven No. 2
The Staatskapelle Berlin and its chief conductor Daniel Barenboim continue their symphonic Beethoven cycle with this recording of Beethoven’s Second Symphony. The cycle started with an acclaimed performance of the Ninth on Berlin’s Bebelplatz and goes on in the Lindenoper. First performed in Vienna in 1803 with Beethoven conducting, the Second Symphony exhibits a daring departure from the traditional form. In a classical symphony, the third movement was always a minuet; Beethoven replaces it with a Scherzo, a quick-paced musical form in three-quarter time. While working on this symphony, Beethoven was undergoing an enormous personal crisis: the growing deafness.