Sir Andrew Davis Conducts Beethoven Symphony No.9

The concert opens with the bombastic, curtain-raising energy of the overture to Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio.

A tale of romance and heroism, the overture lays the scene for the protagonist’s endeavour to rescue her husband from wrongful imprisonment, with daring bravery in the bright fanfare.

Childlike playfulness, drama, tragedy and irony mix to create a unique conjunction of words and music in extracts from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

The work is an orchestral song collection based on a compendium of German poetry and folk songs that held a unique foothold in the German national consciousness.