Beethoven’s influence on future generations was incalculable. At first György Kurtág’s Quasi una Fantasia, with its strategically placed mouth organs throughout the hall, may appear anything but Beethovenian, but even here he acts as a spiritual mentor. The clue is in the title Quasi una Fantasia and opus number ‘27’, which is taken from a pair of Beethoven’s piano sonatas that includes the Moonlight. The remainder of the new season’s opening concert, conducted by Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen, shows how far Beethoven travelled musically in just 30 years, from the Mozart-in-overdrive exuberance of the First Piano Concerto to the epoch-making Ninth, with its epic Ode to Joy choral finale.
This evening’s concert is supported by Michael and Mercedes Hoffman
Premium prices apply
Click here to view an interactive online version of the 2012/13 season brochure
Reviews
The Guardian (4*) Classical Source
More concerts with Esa-Pekka Salonen
Salonen conducts in London
May 30 2013, 19:30 - Royal Festival Hall
Esa-Pekka conducts The Rite of Spring in its centenary performance alongside Debussy's Prelude à l'après-midi d'un faune and Varèse's Amériques
Salonen conducts in London
Sep 26 2013, 19:30 - Royal Festival Hall
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet at Royal Festival Hall










