Utrecht | TivoliVredenburg, main hall | 20:00h

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 6 “Pastorale”
Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, conducted by Jules van Hessen

The explanation during this concert is in Dutch

Was Beethoven a hothead? Perhaps. But not while he was composing his sixth symphony, at least. In this symphony, he’s more of a shepherd taking us on a stroll through an idyllic alpine landscape. An image he evoked still further with the wording on the score’s cover page, ‘Pastoral Symphony, or Recollections of Country Life’, and a note in the programme for its premiere, ‘… more an expression of feeling than painting’. Nevertheless, Beethoven conjures up summery images of streams rippling, birds chirping and thunderstorms brewing.