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BEETHOVEN AKADEMIE 1808

February 29 - March 1, 2020 | Music Hall

No longer on sale

Louis Langrée leads the CSO in a recreation of Beethoven’s legendary 1808 Akademie concert, a once-in-a-lifetime Beethoven experience.

Program

SAT FEB 29, 2020
Part I: 4-6:30 pm
Dinner Pause: 6:30-8:30 pm
Part II: 8:30-10 pm

SUN MAR 1, 2020
Part I: 2:30-5 pm
Dinner Pause: 5-7 pm
Part II: 7-8:30 pm

BEETHOVEN
-Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
-Ah, Perfido!, Scene and Aria
-Gloria from Mass in C
-Piano Concerto No. 4
-Symphony No. 5
-Sanctus from Mass in C
-Improvised Fantasia
-Choral Fantasy

Artists

Louis Langrée, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano
Janai Brugger, soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Nicholas Brownlee, bass
Joyner Horn, mezzo-soprano

Victor Cardamone, tenor
May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco, director
Additional Artists To Be Announced

Venue

Music Hall

Ticket Prices

From $14

Concert Duration

6 hours including a 2 hour dinner pause

Series

This concert is part of Series 3

What's Interesting

This was the most important performance in Beethoven’s lifetime, the concert which featured the premieres of his Symphonies 5 and 6.
Beethoven himself played the premieres of his Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy. Nearly deaf at the time, the Akademie would be his last public performance as a concert pianist.
Beethoven sought to prove himself as the greatest composer of symphonies, sacred and dramatic music and the greatest pianist in Europe. This concert experience is a celebration of Beethoven's 250th birthday.
Saturday and Sunday's Viennese Biergarten dinners are SOLD OUT. Dinner ticket is required for entry into the dinner. Concert tickets are not valid for entry. If you have not purchased a dinner ticket, please see alternative options below.
Grab a bite at one of the food trucks (you're welcome to eat inside Music Hall) or a meal at Taft's Ale House, just a short walk from Music Hall.

Explore our Spotify playlists for this concert and for the entire season.

"I've heard this..."

This program includes a powerful musical moment that you might recognize once you hear it, even if the name of the piece doesn't sound familiar. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony includes an unforgettable opening (hear it here); you may also recognize a disco adaptation, "A Fifth of Beethoven"! Even Judge Judy has borrowed Beethoven's Fifth.

Gene Chang interviews composer Jonathan Bailey Holland

Pre-concert Talks

Join us one hour prior to the concert for casual and engaging discussions by conductors, CSO musicians and local music experts.

Learn More

FANFARE Q&A

Q&A Inon Barnatan

Inon Barnatan shares his insights on the Beethoven Akademie and the 3 Beethoven pieces he'll perform.

PROGRAM NOTES

Beethoven Akademie

Music history is full of famous composers, artists, venues and ensembles, but music history remembers very few concert programs. This weekend we will get to experience by far the most remembered concert program in Western Classical music history—Beethoven’s 1808 Akademie.

What Critics Are Saying

“[Inon Barnatan is] a complete artist: a wonderful pianist, a probing intellect, passionately committed, and a capable contemporary-music pianist as well.”

—Alan Gilbert, New York Philharmonic

“[Dorothea Röschmann's performance is] taut as a violin bow during the many moments of emotional tension but also capable of being gentle and sweet...”

—GB Opera Magazine