Essentials: Beethoven’s Seventh

The Essentials series introduces you to the masterpieces you will be happy to know, performed by the world-famous Concertgebouw Orchestra and complete with a lively introduction by the incomparable Thomas Vanderveken. At Essentials we welcome a new generation of music lovers, and the concerts typically have a pleasant informal atmosphere.

Joana Mallwitz leads the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony: undoubtedly one of his most beautiful and compelling symphonies. The work’s premiere in 1813 was one of the greatest triumphs of Beethoven’s life. Almost immediately, the Allegretto movement began to lead a life of its own, and it still turns up periodically in film and TV soundtracks. And indeed, Beethoven is everywhere; we simply can’t get enough of his music. 

Beethoven’s Seventh always sounds fresh and modern thanks to its relentless, timeless energy. Richard Wagner described the finale as ‘the apotheosis of the dance,’ while conductor Iván Fischer labelled the work ‘nineteenth-century rock music.’ Experience it first-hand at Essentials!