Here’s a kiss for all the world: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is the summit of any Beethoven cycle; some might say of classical music itself. All the more reason to pair it with the uproarious Eighth – pure comedy, delivered with a punch. Combine Gardiner’s lifetime of experience with players and soloists who understand this music from the inside out, and there’s infinitely more to the Ninth symphony than simple optimism. “Beethoven is one of the very first composers who speaks to us as a human being” says Eliot Gardiner. “He lets the mask drop and allows us to see right into his soul”.

Programme

Beethoven – Symphony No. 8 in F 
Beethoven – Smphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral Symphony’ 

Performers

Lucy Crowe Soprano 
Alice Coote Mezzo soprano 
Allan Clayton Tenor 
William Thomas Bass 
Monteverdi Choir 
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique 
John Eliot Gardiner Conductor