Bayleys Great Classics: The Classicist

Conductor: Giordano Bellincampi

Beethoven Symphony No.1
Beethoven Symphony No.2
Beethoven Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’

Right from the very first note of his very first symphony, Beethoven does something new. No symphony had ever started on such an unexpected chord. Yet here’s the paradox: these first two symphonies fit quite happily within the classical mould Haydn and Mozart had created. Haydn, in particular, would have appreciated their quicksilver wit.

With the colossal Third, though, the mould is shattered and cast aside. A symphony on such a gigantic scale was totally unprecedented. This is where Beethoven truly begins to reshape music.

Supported by the Rua & Clarrie Stevens Charitable Trust