Beethoven Overture, Fidelio Schoenberg Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte Schoenberg A Survivor from Warsaw Nono Julius Fučík Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Vladimir Jurowski conductor Robert Hayward narrator (Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte & A Survivor from Warsaw) Omar Ebrahim Fučík (Julius Fučík) Malcolm Sinclair Voice (Julius Fučík) Annabel Arden director Gentlemen of the London Philharmonic Choir
Few composers have done more to overthrow tyrannies both real and creative than Schoenberg and Beethoven. Images of the misuse of power pervade Schoenberg’s outspoken Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte, a cutting, visceral creation after Byron that was created in political circumstances but more functionally designed to mark 20 years of the League of Composers. Most members of that organisation had been freed to some extent by the theoretical upheavals of Beethoven, whose mighty Fifth Symphony changed the way music was conceived – in the head and on the stage. Freedom reigns in this evening of powerful musical gestures.
Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski reveals the themes of human struggle and freedom that link the works in the programme:
Free pre-concert discussion | 6.15pm–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Composer and academic Silvina Milstein looks at the works of Nono and Schoenberg.
Free Barlines post-concert event | Level 2 The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall Artists involved in the performance will discuss the evening’s programme.
CONCERT:Webern, Schoenberg and Mahler Wednesday 23 January 2013 Sir Mark Elder conducts Webern, Schoenberg and Mahler, with mezzo soprano Ekaterina Gubanova and tenor Paul Groves. More information >
CONCERT: Weill Saturday 2 March 2013 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Weill's The Threepenny Opera More information >
CD: Beethoven Symphony 9 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt. London Philharmonic Orchestra £9.99 Release of Klaus Tennstedt conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir in a live recording of Beethoven Symphony 9 made at the Royal Festival Hall in 1992. More information >
