Boston Symphony Orchestra: Beethoven Symphony No 5 & The Rite of Spring

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s residency reaches its climax with Beethoven’s best-loved symphony and Stravinsky’s electrifying Rite of Spring. ‘Relaxing classics’ this most definitely is not. There’s so much more to Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 than its stop-you-in-your-tracks opening gesture. Beethoven builds a whole structure out of that opening four-note pattern – sometimes the players seem to be throwing it to each other like a ball, sometimes it reappears quietly and builds up in overlapping layers, and sometimes the whole orchestra is playing it in unison, giving it everything they’ve got. 200 years after Beethoven’s death, the power of ‘The Fifth’ is undiminished. The uplifting mood of Beethoven's finale makes way for a piece whose tumultuous 1913 premiere heralded a whole new era in music. As befits a ballet depicting a pagan ritual that ends in human sacrifice, Stravinsky’s score is weird, wild, loud and terrifying – and the chance to hear it live from one of the great American orchestras is not to be missed. Programme Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No 5 Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring Performers Boston Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons conductor