Beethoven Weekender

Hear the greatest of all symphonic cycles in its entirety across one weekend. Introduced by Beethoven specialist and broadcaster John Suchet, five of the UK’s finest orchestras will take us on a journey from Beethoven’s game-changing First Symphony through to the glorious Ninth, opening a window to the human soul.

1 Feb:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Kirill Karabits
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko
Introduced by John Suchet

2 Feb:
Royal Northern Sinfonia & Lars Vogt
Hallé & Sir Mark Elder
Introduced by John Suchet

Music, love, life and letters: whether fighting family feuds, contemplating his struggles with profound deafness, or bearing his soul to his ‘immortal beloved’, Beethoven wore his heart on his sleeve. Combining extracts from his intensely passionate letters with some of his most profound and intimate music, the Carducci Quartet shine a spotlight on the man behind the music.

Performers include:
Carducci Quartet
Simon Callow narrator
Anna Melville concept

Take this incredible opportunity to hear Beethoven violin music performed on his very own instrument – this is as close as you’ll come to hearing Beethoven’s music how he himself heard it. Compare the sound with that of a modern instrument, and discover the story of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, written for British virtuoso George Bridgetower.

Performers include:
Tai Murray violin
Silke Avenhaus piano
Daniel Sepec violin
Tobias Schabenberger fortepiano
Introduced by Sara Mohr-Pietsch

A composer at play: Dismissed by the composer’s own publisher as mere trifles, Beethoven’s piano bagatelles are proof that both humour and profundity can be found in the smallest of packages. From delicate miniatures to bottled echoes of his most thunderous piano sonatas, it’s a testament to the genius of the man to see what he could achieve with two minutes and a piano.

Performers include:
Christopher Park piano
Introduced by Gerard McBurney

Being a radical in his own time, the evergreen themes of Beethoven’s music make it ripe for revisiting, reworking and reinterpreting today. Step up André de Ridder and his ground-breaking musical collective s t a r g a z e. Together they present composer-provocateur Matthew Herbert’s 21st-century response which turns Beethoven on his head, moving from electronic installation to flashmob and culminating in a joyful participatory performance.