Beethoven’s Eroica

Sir Roger Norrington conducts The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Beethoven: Symphony No.2

Beethoven: Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’

2020 is the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth and this concert presents two of his symphonies, each strikingly contrasting in style. Beethoven’s second is characterised by its eloquent opening, lyrical slow movement and sparkling finale. His third was famously dedicated to Napoleon, although Beethoven changed his mind when Bonaparte declared himself emperor, violently scratching his name from the score. Beethoven instead subtitled the work Sinfonia Eroica, or ‘Heroic Symphony’. The work is particularly notable for its scale, which far exceeds that of any previous symphony, its varied and imaginative orchestration and the drama and passion of its music.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is one of the world’s leading period instrument ensembles and is particularly renowned for its performances of nineteenth-century classics. Conductor Sir Roger Norrington has spent more than half a century at the forefront of British conducting. He is a pioneer in performing music using the instruments and orchestral forces of its time. Sir Roger’s recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies with the London Classical Players, made in the late 1980s, have never been out of the catalogue and are still praised for their revolutionary spirit.