Gewandhausorchester: Beethoven's Symphony No 6 & Piano Concerto No 5

Two giants of the concert hall, the Gewandhausorchester and household-name pianist Lang Lang, perform Beethoven’s last and greatest piano concerto. With Andris Nelsons steering the Gewandhaus, you’ll be swept along on waves of glorious sound. The evening begins with the composer’s crowd-pleasing Pastoral Symphony. Listen out for a murmuring brook, rumbling thunder and startlingly accurate birdsong. Beethoven represents the nightingale with the flute, the quail with the oboe and the cuckoo with two clarinets. However, the main focus of the symphony are the emotions that this rural setting inspires. We are invited to feel the happiness of arriving in the country, the disruption of a storm and the peace of its aftermath. Gewandhausorchester premiered Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto in 1811. The pinnacle of Beethoven’s achievements in this form, it spoke to its audience in fresh, unfamiliar ways. Lang Lang masters its complexities while making it look easy. Programme Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6 ‘Pastorale’ – 45’ Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’ – 45’ Performers Gewandhausorchester Andris Nelsons conductor Lang Lang piano