Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
Leif Ove Andsnes piano

BEETHOVEN Overture, Namensfeier
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

In the opening concert of the season, the Philharmonia’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, explores the music of perhaps the most famous and influential composer of all time. The concert is part of the Philharmonia’s international series marking 185 years since the composer’s death, culminating in a complete Beethoven symphony cycle at the Beethovenfest in Bonn, Germany. The Fifth Symphony, featured in this concert, stands as a fine representation of Beethoven’s otherworldly genius. Its opening bars are so terrifyingly direct that commentators have long argued over their ‘meaning’: “Fate knocking at the door” is a common interpretation. It is an important motif which, remarkably, encapsulates all of the thematic material of the rest of the movement.