THIS year the Australian Chamber Orchestra celebrates not one, but two milestone anniversaries.
The ACO is heralding the 250th birthday of Beethoven and 30 years under the leadership of artistic director Richard Tognetti.
To kick off the celebrations, the ACO is opening its 2020 season in February with the rare opportunity to hear the first three of Beethoven's symphonies together in full, including the magnificent Eroica.
Directed from the violin by Tognetti, the core 17-piece ACO will be joined by string students of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and wind and brass musicians from around the world to make over 50 players.
Beethoven has endured for centuries as one of the most popular and beloved composers around the world, with his music found everywhere from concert halls, to film soundtracks, to disco-era chart toppers.
Widely acknowledged as a true musical revolutionary he is credited with paving the transition between the classical and romantic eras.
The concerts will be in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane from February 8-17.
"250 years ago, Ludwig van Beethoven, the Grand Mogul from Bonn (as Haydn cheekily referred to him) was born," said Tognetti.
"The German composer, whose own extraordinary story famously includes suffering from profound deafness from his late 20s, would become regarded as the great musical liberator, forging the course of the Romantic movement and beyond."
Beethoven's Symphony No.1 and spirited Symphony No.2 open the program before the composer's third, and arguably most electrifying, symphonic achievement: the Eroica.
Initially dedicated to Napoleon in celebration of his heroism and grandeur, Beethoven famously scratched out the written dedication in fury upon hearing of Napoleon's plans to declare himself emperor. Unprecedented in ambition, length and meaning, the 'Eroica' Symphony represents a turning point in musical history.
Performance dates:
- Canberra, Llewellyn Hall, Feb 8, 8pm
- Melbourne, Arts Centre Melbourne, Feb 9, 2.30pm; Feb 10, 7.30pm
- Sydney, City Recital Hall, Feb 11, 8pm; Feb 12, 7pm; Feb 14, 1.30pm; Feb 15, 7pm, Feb 16, 2pm
- Brisbane, QPAC Concert Hall, Feb 17, 7pm