This concert, consisting of four works by Beethoven to be conducted by András Keller, is another great gift from a season immersed in the world of the German master. We will start with the transcription he made for piano and orchestra of his only, yet nevertheless ‘princely’, violin concerto in D major. Lavishly melodic, overflowing with sweet harmonies, and almost impossibly beautiful, the work was commissioned by the piano virtuoso Muzio Clementi in 1807.

Then come Beethoven’s two romances for violin and orchestra. The first, the Romance in F major, written around 1798, has a cheerful, pastoral atmosphere and is one of the composer’s most popular and lyrical pieces. Featuring less Beethovenian drama and striving more for beauty and purity of form, its delicate ornamentation and precise intonational requirements nevertheless make it a piece that demands serious technical preparation.

Although the Romance in G major was written in 1802, it was awarded the number one position in the set, as it had been published earlier. It is characterised by an elegant, song-like melody and bears the hallmarks of Classicism. The concert will conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C major, his first large-scale orchestral work, which the composer completed in 1800 at the age of 30.

While its style is still strongly linked to the Viennese Classicism of Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven’s uniquely innovative artistic ideas already shine through. At the time of its premiere, critics found it overly modern and – owing to the wind instruments – ‘noisy’. Today, however, we appreciate it as one of the most refined pieces in the Classical symphonic literature.