Artists
Esa-Pekka Salonen – conductor
Pierre-Laurent Aimard – piano
Golda Schultz – soprano
Madeleine Shaw – mezzo soprano
Stuart Jackson – tenor
Ashley Riches – baritone
Rodolfus Choir
Philharmonia Voices
Programme
Beethoven Symphony No. 6, Pastoral Listen
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Listen
— Interval —
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Listen
Beethoven Choral Fantasy Listen
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts a new production recreating one of the most famous concerts in the history of classical music: Beethoven’s epic Vienna concert of December 1808.
Reaching towards heaven but constrained by reality: Beethoven’s ‘Akademie’ concert at Vienna’s Teater an der Wien, three days before Christmas 1808, was both a crowning triumph and plagued by mishaps.
Remarkably, three of Beethoven’s masterpieces – the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, and the Fourth Piano Concerto – received their public premieres in this extravagantly lengthy concert conducted by Beethoven himself. The event also saw the first performance of the Choral Fantasy in which Beethoven himself, as in the Concerto, was also the soloist. It was the great composer displaying to the Viennese public the full panoply of his genius – as composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist and improviser.
Yet, the event was at times farcical: the audience shivered in a cold auditorium; amateurs had to fill in gaps within the orchestra, and the Choral Fantasy was barely finished in time for the concert.
In this Basingstoke performance, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts, while Pierre-Laurent Aimard takes on the role of Beethoven as virtuoso soloist.
Need to know
Prices & Discounts
£16 – £42
Subscription discounts available; under-25s and concession discounts available
Running time
2 hour 40 minutes, including 20-minute interval
Recommended age
From 7+
Box office
Anvil Arts box office: 01256 844244
Artist change
Due to health concerns, Andreas Haefliger is unable to travel to the UK to perform in our Beethoven Day on Saturday 14 March. We are very grateful to Pierre-Laurent Aimard for stepping in at short notice. The programme remains unchanged.
