Ludwig van Beethoven
The very first work performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, on its first ever subscription concert on 3 November 1888 was the aptly named overture Die Weihe des Hauses (The Consecration of the House) by Ludwig van Beethoven. As the composer had been dead for over sixty years, the Concertgebouw Orchestra never had the chance to work with him. But it’s a given for orchestras to play Beethoven.
Just like other orchestras, the Concertgebouw Orchestra started to organise with cycles in which all nine symphonies would be played, as in the 1893/1894 season. The celebration of Beethoven’s 150th birth year in 1920 coincided with Willem Mengelberg’s 25th season as chief conductor. This led to a Beethoven festival which saw many of his other pieces performed alongside the symphonies. After a more compact cycle in May 1922 brought renewed success, the orchestra started the annual tradition of programming a Beethoven cycle at the end of each winter season. This tradition continued for some forty years.
The Beethoven cycle came to a dramatical close in 1941. On 8 June, Symphony No. 9 was the last work most Jewish orchestra members were allowed to participate in. With “alle Menschen werden Brüder” still resonating, they were sent home by order of the occupying forces. In 1946, the Beethoven tradition was resumed, with most of the Jewish orchestra members having returned. Before long, this cycle became an annual radio broadcast cornerstone.
The 1960s witnessed the end of this regular programming. Beethoven cycles were only presented on occasion, for instance in 1978, when a cycle with Bernard Haitink found success in the United States, and in the early 1990s under Wolfgang Sawallisch.
A more recent triumph was the cycle led by Iván Fischer, which was spread out over two seasons (2013/14 and 2014/15), and was also recorded onto a set of 3 DVDs (RCO Live 14109). For Beethoven year 2020, which was interrupted by the corona pandemic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra decided to release a CD version of a symphony cycle using recordings from 1978 to 2010, led by nine different conductors. Between 7 and 12 October 2020, right before the second lockdown, the orchestra performed all five piano concertos with the conductor Gustavo Gimeno and the pianist Krystian Zimerman.
Cycle or no cycle, not a season goes by without some Beethoven.
