Beethoven Eroica

BEETHOVEN
Concerto No. 5 “The Emperor”
Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

A monumental season opener. Carried by the unprecedented power of a double orchestra, Beethoven breaks all conventions: from imperial brilliance to heroic epic, music becomes revolution.

Beethoven to open the season—and not just any Beethoven. The breath of the Emperor and the heroic élan resound here within the powerful setting of a double-orchestra performance. In the first half, the Piano Concerto No. 5, known as “The Emperor,” composed in 1809 while Vienna was being bombarded by Napoleonic troops. The piano surges forth from the very start, without waiting for the orchestra, establishing a new kind of relationship: no longer confrontation, but dialogue between soloist and orchestra. David Fray performs it here for the first time.

With the Third Symphony, the “Eroica,” individual impulse expands into a vast collective epic, carried by the combined power of Insula orchestra and Insula camerata—the period-instrument orchestra founded by Laurence Equilbey and her academy of young musicians, brought together for this occasion in a rare double-orchestra configuration of exceptional scope.

At their helm, Laurence Equilbey, whose commitment to Beethoven on period instruments lies at the heart of Insula orchestra’s artistic project since its founding—and who approaches this programme with the strength and conviction of a conductor at the peak of her art.

This concert is performed on period instruments.