Beethoven’s Fifth

THE PERFORMANCE

How do you begin to describe the most famous classical piece of all? Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 has been reworked as a dance mix and abbreviated to a ringtone. Currently rocketing through deep space on a recording aboard the Voyager spacecraft, it’s one of our calling cards to extraterrestrial life. In short, Beethoven’s Fifth is a touchstone of our culture. Hear it as it’s meant to be heard – live and unabridged.

Bartók’s fantastically difficult Violin Concerto No 2 was written in the 1930s for the great Hungarian violinist Zoltán Székely. Brilliantly inventive, it places huge demands not just on the soloist but on the entire orchestra. Inspired, like most of Bartók’s music, by elements of Hungarian folk music, it is a tour de force in every respect. One of the world’s great violinists, Baiba Skride, returns to the TSO for this breathtaking concert.