Are you ready for this? One of the biggest revolutions in music history, distilled into nine symphonies, played over two weeks. The ASO’s Principal Guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth leads the ASO in this special immersive experience, a fitting tribute for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.
When you hear Beethoven’s symphonies, you are hearing nothing less than the total transformation of an artform. Haydn and Mozart had written symphonies to be listened to and admired; Beethoven wrote symphonies that grabbed hold of you and took you somewhere. Never before had music been so raw and human, so personal and probing.
In nine great strides, Beethoven changed a genteel diversion into a dramatic and expressive art, capable of encapsulating the whole of human experience. This is when music grew up. |