In the heroic, free-flowing momentum of the Third Symphony’s opening, Beethoven poured out his enthusiasm for Napoleon Bonaparte, the military leader who seemed to champion everything the composer stood for. A decade later, things were rather different. Napoleon ignited Beethoven’s fury with his totalitarian egotism and rampage through Europe. As the general invaded Vienna, Beethoven shunned the mass exodus and stayed put. Amidst the canon fire, he penned his Eleventh String Quartet – unmatched in all of Beethoven’s output in its compression, tension and exaggeration. Themes are spat out; silences brood ominously. In Mahler’s orchestral arrangement, Beethoven’s most explosive quartet gains even more firepower.

Mahler Suite from the Orchestral Works of JS Bach
Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.2
Webern Five Movements, Op.5
Beethoven String Quartet in F minor, Op.95 (arranged for string orchestra by Mahler)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Janine Jansen violin
London Philharmonic Orchestra

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