Beethoven+ presents Symphonies 4 and 5, and Trim's Symphonia Pandemica

BCP’s BEETHOVEN+ cycle reaches a triumphant end with the 4th and 5th Symphonies. Often overlooked, the 4th (falling between the Eroica and No 5) has been likened to a slender maiden caught between two giants.

Our final concert in the series begins with Jon Trim’s Symphonia Pandemica; composed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this work charts a journey from darkness to light, reflecting the early fears of the pandemic being replaced by hope and, finally, joy as lockdowns came to an end. This matches the emotional arc of the most famous symphony of all: Beethoven’s 5th, with which BEETHOVEN+ ends. The coiled fury of the first movement, with its famous ‘fate knocking on the door’ motif (da-da-da-DAAA) finally resolves in the finale into pure daylight. In E M Forster’s novel Howard’s End, Beethoven’s 5th is described as ‘the most sublime noise ever to penetrate into the ear of man’. Who, hearing this great work live, could disagree?

Programme
Trim Symphonia Pandemica
Beethoven Symphony No 4 in B flat Op 60
Beethoven Symphony No 5 in C minor Op 67