Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony

Repertoire

Performers

Programme notes

Nature in all its glory is the star of this concert, which takes us into the heart of Viennese Classicism. The Swiss cellist Nadège Rochat makes her debut with the orchestra, and we are also thrilled to welcome guest conductor and Beethoven specialist Thomas Rösner, Artistic Director of the Vienna-based Beethoven Philharmonie.

MUSIC AND NATURE

Nature in all its glory is the star of this concert, which takes us into the heart of Viennese Classicism. Thomas Rösner, an expert in the Classical period and the music of Beethoven – he is Artistic Director of the Beethoven Philharmonie in Vienna – will offer a programme full of colour and light. Mendelssohn was struck by nature at its wildest while visiting the Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. He began writing this overture while he was still there, the music dictated by the power of the wind and the sea. Haydn composed his Cello Concerto No. 1 for the cellist of Prince Esterházy’s orchestra, but at some point the score disappeared. A century and a half later it was discovered in an archive and the work is now a staple of the modern cello repertoire. It is a virtuosic work, full of melody, and ideally suited to young Swiss cellist Nadège Rochat. Beethoven loved the natural world and decided to pay homage to it in his Symphony No. 6. Some of the best-known passages he ever wrote can be found in this work, including the merry gathering of country folk, the peaceful scene by the brook, and the vivid depiction of a storm, full of musical thunder and lightning.