Beethoven 7: Carolin & Jörg Widmann
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L'Auditori Lepant 150, 08013 Barcelona

Image courtesy of L'auditori
The so-called “heroic” period of Beethoven’s music is reflected in Symphony No. 7—its most polished exponent—and the bold pathway that he had embarked on years before crystallized in a work conspicuous for its rhythmic vigor. Richard Wagner upheld this symphony, worked on by Beethoven during the winter of 1811 to 1812, as representing “the apotheosis of dance.” Symphony No. 7 has been said to encapsulate everything that Nietzsche identified in Beethoven’s music: “an 18th century swan’s song, the century of exaltation, of broken ideals and of vanishing happiness.”
Compared with the many projects today that turn out to be mere pipe dreams, Jörg Widmann stands out for his solid musical career. A multifaceted musician familiar with musical tradition, he is deserving of the literature in the field of musicology that has already been published on his work. Con brio (With Spirit), one of his most celebrated works commissioned by Bavaria Radio Symphony Orchestra, is an overture in hermeneutic dialogue with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. His Violin Concerto, with a lyricism that has been compared with the well-known concerto by Alban Berg, represents a landmark in current musical creation.
Program
- Jörg Widmann: Con brio (2008; rev. 2013) 12'
- Jörg Widmann: Violin Concerto (2007) 27'
- Jörg Widmann: New Work (2023) – World Premiere, work commissioned by the Palau de la Música Catalana
- L. V. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 (1811) 40'
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