Sir Andrew Davis Conducts Beethoven's Symphony No.9

Beethoven’s titanic Symphony No.9 comes to the Royal Festival Hall under the baton of the celebrated conductor Sir Andrew Davis in this arrangement by Mahler from 1900. Throughout the legendary composer’s final symphony, the work’s scale and ambition remains nigh unchallenged in the Western canon. With its unrelenting, unmistakable theme, set to Schiller’s patriotic poem Ode to Joy, reaching a glorious climax in the Finale, many have found meaning in interpreting the Symphony’s overwhelming message of humanist idealism.

The concert opens with the bombastic, curtain-raising energy of the Overture to Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. A tale of romance, heroism and cross-dressing, the Overture lays the scene for the protagonist’s endeavour to rescue her husband from wrongful imprisonment with daring bravery in the bright fanfare.

Also featuring in this evening’s programme are extracts from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn. An orchestral song collection based on a compendium of German poetry and folk songs, it holds a unique foothold in the German national consciousness. Childlike playfulness, drama, tragedy and irony mix to create a unique conjunction of words and music with tonight’s four soloists.