Beethoven the Revolutionary: Hans Graf conducts Symphony No 8

Join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and presenter John Suchet on a journey through the powerful and inspirational world of ‘Beethoven: The Revolutionary’.

Join Austrian conductor Hans Graf and presenter John Suchet for an evening comprising some of the most sublime orchestral works Beethoven produced. The theatrical overture to Coriolan opens the concert with dramatic tragedy, portraying the legendary Roman figure who betrayed his own people.

Beethoven’s first piano concerto begins with a surprisingly simple opening: a C major chord. There are none of the ornaments and elaborations which would have been familiar to audiences of the time. From this humble start, Beethoven’s huge imagination fills the piece with musical tricks and jokes, navigated on this occasion by soloist Jae-Hyuck Cho.

Eight symphonies in, and gripped by hearing loss, Beethoven was still able to reinvent and recreate. In his eighth symphony he presents another piece filled with twists, turns and surprises, and displays masterstrokes in experimentation. Musicologist Tom Service describes the symphony as ‘one of the shortest, weirdest, but most compelling symphonies of the 19th century’.