Beethoven Symphony Cycle (Nos 7 & 8)
Saffron Walden
London
18 – 21 May 2019
Beethoven
Symphony No. 7
Gerald Barry
Viola Concerto (world premiere tour)
Beethoven
Symphony No. 8
Artists
Thomas Adès
conductor
Lawrence Power
viola
Summary
A thrilling Viola Concerto featuring one of today’s foremost violists, Lawrence Power, plus a short but inventive symphony all brought together with a jubilant and joyous close. Britten Sinfonia and Thomas Adès’ Beethoven partnership, described by The Times as “dazzlingly played… impelled by Thomas Adès’ impassioned conducting” returns with Symphonies No. 7 and No. 8.
In Conversation – Saffron Hall, 6.30pm
Lawrence Power discusses Gerald Barry’s new Viola Concerto in this pre-concert talk (free to ticket holders).
Find out more about the Beethoven Symphony Cycle here.
London
This concert is being broadcast live by BBC Radio 3 and will be available for 30 days after broadcast on BBC Sounds; simply search for Radio 3 in Concert.
Related News / Blog
Reviews
The Guardian
"The Beethoven symphonies around the premiere were more of what we have come to expect from Adès and this orchestra – vivid, modern performances and bursting with rhythmic life. If the Seventh had an irresistible momentum, the Eighth was much more singular, with its quirks almost exaggerated: the second movement Allegretto sometimes conjured up comparisons with Stravinsky."
Read MoreThe Times
"This was not a top-down performance but a collaboration between Adès and the ensemble. The leader, Jacqueline Shave, channelled so much energy in her playing that it was hard to look away."
Read MoreBachTrack
"Beethoven symphony cycles may be as regular as resignations from the government, but the three-year project by Thomas Adès and Britten Sinfonia has really stood out for the visceral and energetic approach that has been consistently taken to these Classical warhorses."
Read MoreClassical Source
"This interpretation was full of character. From the outset, drive and drama were favoured above grandeur."
Read MoreClassical Voice America
"Adès effectively contrasted the disparate elements of the Beethoven symphonies. In the fourth movement of the Seventh, for instance, Adès propelled the orchestra to a fever pitch with resounding calls in the horns followed by a biting, anxious crescendo that suddenly dropped to a hush."
Read MoreJournal of Music
"While the two middle movements were exceptional there was still plenty of gas left in the tank for the finale that was taken at a faster tempo than usual leaving the audience in the Barbican gasping for breath. Britten Sinfonia seemed to relish the challenge and delivered everything Adès asked of them."
Read More