Opening Night: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

The season opens with Beethoven's Ninth, a work that has closed and opened eras alike. The orchestra is joined by four soloists and a full chorus for a performance that fills the hall from the first tremolo to the final chord.

Preparation for the Ninth began months in advance. The chorus rehearsed separately through the summer before joining the orchestra, and the soloists worked with the conductor on balance in the fourth movement, where the voice must carry over a full symphonic texture without forcing.

What to Expect

The concert runs for roughly ninety minutes without an interval, so that the four movements are heard as the continuous argument Beethoven wrote them to be.

• A complete performance of Symphony No. 9 in D minor
• Four vocal soloists with the full concert chorus
• Programme notes on the Ode to Joy and its history
• No interval — the symphony is performed unbroken