Beethoven 5

Beethoven’s radical fifth symphony, heralding the change from Classicism to Romanticism, is here joined by two representative masterpieces from both historic periods.

Mozart’s first and only surviving concerto for bassoon was written when he was 18 years old and was the first of his concertos written for wind instruments. The concerto makes splendid use of the solo instrument, with contrasts of register and the necessary elements of virtuosic display.

Richard Strauss’ melancholic Metamorphosen, written in the closing months of the Second World War, was written as a statement of mourning for Germany’s destruction during the war. In response to the tragic aesthetic loss, he masterfully uses the funeral march of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony as the motivic genesis of this deeply moving work.

From two hundred years ago, Beethoven’s masterpiece still sounds utterly modern; from the drama of fate knocking at the door in its famous opening to mankind’s triumph in its revolutionary finale.