Composed in 1809 during the French invasion of Austria, it is a miracle that Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto was ever completed. Beethoven was lodging next to the city ramparts as Napoleon’s army bombarded Vienna and he was struggling with his increasing deafness. Unlike any concerto that came before it in scale and virtuosity, Pavel Kolesnikov joins the Orchestra to perform this musical testament to the freedom of man.

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is filled with insistent rhythms which drive it relentlessly forward. Is it a work of joy? Or, as Wagner declared, ‘the apotheosis of dance’? Of glorious revelling in life despite adversity? Or of obsessive mania? Without doubt it is filled with music which at the time was revolutionary, so much so that some of the musicians at the first performances declared Beethoven must have been drunk when he wrote it! Whatever the inspiration, conductor Hans Graf will undoubtedly draw you into this masterpiece and take you on a powerful journey through darkness to light.

With a short introduction by John Suchet.

6.30-6.55pm: Pre-concert Talk
by presenter John Suchet on Beethoven: The Revolutionary (admission free to 7.30pm concert ticket holders).

We are sorry to announce that Sir Andrew Davis has had to withdraw from this performance due to illness. We are grateful to Hans Graf for stepping in to conduct at such short notice.

This concert is kindly supported by: