Munich Philharmonic: BeethovenNew Year’s Eve concert conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado
This event is in the past.
“O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen und freudenvollere!” (Oh friends, not these sounds! Let us strike up more pleasing, joyful ones!) These are the introductory words of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ode to Joy in his Symphony No 9. They follow a menacingly dissonant, chaotic music, which the bass imperiously dismisses with a short recitative.
This event is in the past.
“O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen und freudenvollere!” (Oh friends, not these sounds! Let us strike up more pleasing, joyful ones!) These are the introductory words of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ode to Joy in his Symphony No 9. They follow a menacingly dissonant, chaotic music, which the bass imperiously dismisses with a short recitative.
- Christina Landshamer, soprano
- Marianne Beate Kielland, alto
- Sebastian Kohlhepp, tenor
- Florian Boesch, baritone
- Munich Philharmonic Choir; Andreas Herrmann, rehearsal
- Munich Philharmonic
- Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor
In his ninth symphony, Beethoven employs an ingenious device to justify the introduction of the human voice for the transition from a purely instrumental section to the choral finale. And though brief, it’s a transition of some significance: Here, Beethoven bursts the boundaries of symphonic composition, the melody of joy swelling to a vocal celebration of humanity. In this year’s performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 by the Munich Philharmonic, bass-baritone Florian Bösch takes on this vital task, preparing the ground for his fellow soloists Christina Landshamer, Marianne Beate Kielland and Sebastian Kohlhepp as well as the Philharmonic Choir. Wielding the baton at the traditional New Year’s Eve concert is Pablo Heras-Casado – a long-standing welcome guest conductor with the Munich Philharmonic.
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125
