As heard in…
Classical music can be found everywhere. Here are some pieces you might have heard beyond the concert hall.
As famous as it gets
The ‘duh-duh-duh-duuuh’ of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is one of the most famous openings in all of musical history. As well as being a classical concert favourite, it’s featured throughout popular culture, appearing in films such as Saturday Night Fever and Fantasia. But those famous four notes are just the start. Get ready for a musical drama that even today can still shock – and inspire – like few other masterpieces.
Beethoven & Mozart | 15 October 2023 | Brighton
Beethoven’s Fifth | 29 November 2023 | London
The King’s Speech
If you’ve seen The King’s Speech, you’ll no doubt recognise the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, played as George VI makes his address to the nation. The film also features the serene second movement of Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto along with moments from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. The good news if you’re a fan of The King’s Speech? We’re playing all three of these pieces this season.
Mozart & Beethoven | 26 November 2023 | Eastbourne
Scheherazade | 6 December 2023 | London
(Emperor Concerto)
Beethoven’s Seventh | 27 January 2024 | London
For Disney fans
Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is bursting with storytelling. It’s one of those pieces of music that lets your imagination run wild. For many, a certain famous mouse comes to mind! Whether you’re thinking of Mickey in a wizard’s hat, the Goethe poem that inspired Dukas, or your own story entirely, you’re set for ten minutes of pure magic.
November brings even more Fantasia memories, as jazz piano legend Julian Joseph joins us for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which you may recognise from Fantasia 2000, or even Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. But tonight, it’ll be heard in a whole new light as Joseph presents his own improvisatory version of the piece (played the way Gershwin himself would have played it).
Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel | 3 November 2023 | London
(The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue | 22 November 2023 | London
Superman meets Harry Potter
John Williams has written some of the most iconic film scores of all time (ET, Star Wars, and Jaws to name a few). We start the new year with a celebration of some of his most-loved music, including moments from Harry Potter and Superman alongside something very special. ‘The undisputed queen of violin-playing (The Times) Anne-Sophie Mutter joins us for the UK premiere of Williams’s Violin Concerto No. 2, which was inspired by the violinist herself. It’s a concert that no lover of movie music will want to miss.
Mutter plays John Williams | 13 January 2024 | London