Beethoven 200: What Makes a Classic?

Two hundred years after Beethoven’s death, this complete cycle of his nine iconic symphonies places Beethoven’s music into a wider conversation about what makes the defining works of our own time.

Across nine concerts, nine conductors each pair a Beethoven symphony with a contemporary work they believe has the power to stand the test of time. Each has chosen a piece composed within our own lifetime – music they believe could take its place among the works we keep going back to alongside Beethoven.

The result is a chance to hear Beethoven anew: not as an isolated genius, but as part of a living tradition of musical innovation, influence and ambition. And it poses tantalising questions: which pieces of music written in the last 50 years will still be performed, admired and loved 200 years from now? What are the key ingredients that make a work ‘a classic’?

Across the cycle, Beethoven’s symphonies meet the voices of Reich, Tavener, Lindberg, Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Tippett, MacMillan, Shostakovich & Higdon. Some are bold disruptors, some spiritual visionaries, some masters of colour, rhythm or form. All, like Beethoven himself, are composers whose music has the imaginative force to speak beyond its own time.

Together, these pairings trace a line from Beethoven’s revolutionary energy to the composers shaping the future of orchestral music – inviting us to consider how a piece of music becomes a classic, and which of today’s works might become tomorrow’s concert hall favourites.

To open each concert, broadcaster and writer Tom Service will act as your guide, giving audiences a clear way into both Beethoven’s symphony and the contemporary work alongside it.

Beethoven 200 is made possible by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, founding supporters of the Philharmonia Creative Futures Fund. Cockayne Grants for the Arts is a Donor Advised Donor Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust.

Tickets for our Beethoven 200 series go on sale as follows:
Wednesday 14 October, 10am: Philharmonia Benefactors, Patrons and Chair Endowers
Thursday 15 October, 10am: Philharmonia Friends
Tuesday 20 October, 10am: General booking opens

This is a wonderful and unique chance to renew the essential energy of these nine symphonies, each of which presents a completely different worldview. It will be thrilling to talk to all of the conductors on stage, to explore why they’ve chosen the partner pieces they have for each symphony, and to go on a journey together that reclaims the startling modernity of Beethoven’s creativity through these visceral connections with the music of our time.

Tom Service