Revolution: The Beethoven Effect

Orpheus Sinfonia will spend an evening exploring how Beethoven transformed classical music, inspired and daunted all those who came after him, and produced such great works of art, instilled with his visions and beliefs. His fascinating letters give us a wonderful insight into his passionate character and we will hear excerpts from these letters alongside his symphonies, brought to life by a dynamic young actor. Orpheus will perform excerpts from each of his symphonies, which takes us on a very exciting and extraordinary musical journey. To bind this all together there will be a brief narrative coupled with some beautiful projected images. His life was unique, both in terms of what he had to face through deafness and the resulting loneliness, and also in his place in musical history. He dramatically changed the path of music, creating some of the most exciting and dynamic music ever written.


The Eroica Symphony, which we will perform in its entirety in the second half of the concert, is regarded by most as the transformation into the romantic era. It caused quite a sensation at the time, his teacher Haydn remarking that his young pupil had “now surely gone too far...”. From the opening two chords all the way through to the end, the world was thrust into a new era of expression. Beethoven knew his strength and was often quoted as saying that “music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman...”.