Beethoven 9: Global Ode to Joy with Marin Alsop

Programme

A major choral celebration and one of music’s most exhilarating finales bring the Beethoven journey to a resounding climax.

Marin Alsop, our Principal Guest Conductor, leads a programme that opens in luminous reflection with Jennifer Higdon’s Blue Cathedral, a score of shimmering colours and spacious textures. Reena Esmail’s Choir only then adds a distinctive contemporary voice, broadening the evening’s sense of community, contemplation and shared humanity.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, heard here as part of the ‘Global Ode to Joy’ project, crowns the concert with music of unprecedented scale and emotional reach. Moving from turbulence and conflict to the visionary affirmation of the finale, it remains one of the great communal experiences in music: a work that unites orchestra, chorus and audience in a statement of hope, solidarity and joy.

This concert is part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes Festival.

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.