Hear two of the most revolutionary of Beethoven’s nine symphonies in one concert.
No single symphony of Beethoven’s had quite the impact of his Symphony No 3, the Eroica. Not only was this work significantly longer, deeper and broader than any that had gone before, it also appeared to speak about entirely different things – music not just as entertainment, but as an embodiment of personal will and heroism and the human urge for liberty, endurance and fortitude. The symphony that left audiences and critics dumbfounded in 1804 still has a capacity to mesmerize and astonish.
Jan Willem de Vriend’s interpretations of Beethoven’s music are rooted in a strong rhythmic impulse. In the composer’s Symphony No 7, Beethoven’s new vision of rhythm’s relationship with harmony produced the most physical and rhythmically fascinating music that had been written to date. By now, Beethoven wasn’t just exploring new techniques, he was giving voice to a wave of joy that had swept into his life and filled him with determination and optimism.
Our Beethoven series
Music was changed forever by Beethoven’s symphonies. These nine pieces, spanning the first quarter of the nineteenth century, changed the way composers write, musicians play and audiences listen. In one fell swoop, they transformed not just the scale and ambition of instrumental music but also the whole idea of musical creativity and performance and their place in society.
Two hundred years after the composer’s death, and after years of excellent and revelatory work with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra on Beethoven’s music, Jan Willem de Vriend conducts these nine pivotal works across the space of ten days at the Grieg Hall – a journey through the greatest body of orchestral works ever created that will renew not just the works themselves but also the musicians playing them and the audiences hearing them.