If Beethoven’s Second Symphony is the sound of a young artist stretching his wings, the Third – the Eroica – is the moment when his genius takes flight. Music and politics collide, to explosive effect, and we’re still recovering from the aftershock. John Eliot Gardiner’s elite period-instrument orchestra makes it sound more dangerous than ever; and with its swaggering horns, monumental funeral march and unquenchable energy, the Eroica is the symphony, above all others, that lets the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique live up to its name. The Second Symphony is positively playful by comparison, but be warned: this kitten has claws.

Programme

Beethoven – Symphony No. 2 in D 
Beethoven – Symphony No. 3 in E flat, ‘Eroica’ 

Performers

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique 
John Eliot Gardiner Conductor