Kit Armstrong & Le Concert Olympique V

How can one grasp Beethoven’s genius? For conductor Jan Caeyers and pianist Kit Armstrong, the best way to do so is by creating a snapshot of his life through a symphony, a piano concerto and a piano sonata. This concert centres on a moment of farewell: Beethoven is bidding farewell to his life as a public pianist due to his worsening hearing loss. The Fifth Piano Concerto, composed in 1809, is also his last: a triumphant high point and culmination of his career as a piano virtuoso (he had already composed it for his piano pupil, Archduke Rudolph) and a historic milestone marking the first time the roles of performer and composer were separated. In keeping with this, he subsequently composed the piano sonata »Les Adieux« in the same key of E flat major: a farewell piece marking the imperial family’s flight from Napoleon’s advancing troops and, at the same time, a timeless farewell. 

The Seventh Symphony was composed a few years later, inspired by the patriotic elation following the Austrian victories in the Napoleonic Wars. Yet, in retrospect, it becomes clear that this work marks the end of an era in Beethoven’s oeuvre, often referred to as the »heroic style«. Jan Caeyers, together with his specialist orchestra Le Concert Olympique, brings this turning point in the middle of Beethoven’s life to the stage.