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Beethoven Symphony Cycle

Britten Sinfonia/Adès

Thomas Ades conducting on stage 2017

Britten Sinfonia’s Beethoven Symphony Cycle, conducted by Thomas Adès, concludes with Beethoven’s mighty ‘choral’ symphony and Gerald Barry’s feverish The Eternal Recurrence.

Beethoven’s extraordinary Ninth Symphony is regarded by many as the finest of all symphonies, and its message of humanity, perhaps most famously encapsulated in the symphony’s Ode to Joy chorus, continues to resonate today (not least, as the anthem for the European Union).  Here, Beethoven’s masterful celebration of the human race is paired with Gerald Barry’s The Eternal Recurrence, a brilliant, feverish setting of texts from Nietzsche’s philosophical novel Also sprach Zarathustra.

The performance is expected to finish around 9.15pm, including a 20 minute interval.

Discover

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Watch: conductor Thomas Adès on Beethoven

Thomas Adès discusses how he's approaching Beethoven's symphonies and why he's paired them with the music of Irish composer and Beethoven devotee, Gerald Barry.

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Watch: Britten Sinfonia Season Trailer 2018-19

Watch Britten Sinfonia's 2018-19 season, which offers a world-class line-up of musicians, conductors and composers, with programmes drawing intriguing connections across a wide array of music.

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Listen: Classical Music on Spotify

Follow our regularly updated Classical Music playlist for a sample of the music you'll hear across our programme. 

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From architecture to behind the scenes and artist takeovers, get closer to our programme and learn more about our building on Instagram.

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Cocktails, concrete and tonnes of charm

Pop into the Martini Bar for a pre-performance tipple, with Happy Hour from 5-6pm

Barbican Hall