A week after Napoleon invades Russia, Ludwig van Beethoven almost certainly says “Yes,
tonight Josephine” to the love of his life, the unhappily married and recently jilted but
socially impossible match, Countess Jozefina Brunszvik. Three days later he pours forth - with
the pencil (!) he souvenired from the tryst - the 10 little pages of hopeless devotion that have spawned thousands of pages of academic speculation. He hastily concludes in order to make the next post, then scrunches them in his pocket for the rest of his life.

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Beethoven's Eighth

Berry Uniting Church

Bowral Memorial Hall

National Gallery of Australia

Glasshouse Port Macquarie

Rathmines Theatre

City Recital Hall

In 1812, Beethoven wrote a love letter to an unknown lady that has occupied generations of researchers but also inspired musicians. In his violin concerto, which he wrote in 2019 for the violinist Midori, Detlev Glanert sees the words in Beethoven's famous letter as notes and the declaration of love as music. After the overture by Beethoven's student Ferdinand Ries, the master himself takes center stage in the 7th Philharmonic Concert: with the cheerful, thoughtful piano piece "Andante favori", which Roland Böer arranged for orchestra, and with his always surprising and not very triumphant 8th Symphony.

Immortally in love

Meistersingerhalle

Composed between 1804 and 1808, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 stands as one of his most renowned works. Its’ iconic opening motif, with its memorable rhythm 'duh-duh-duh-duuuh', is instantly recognisable. Often referred to as ‘the Fate Symphony’ (German: Schicksalssinfonie), the famous opening four-note gesture is believed to symbolise fate knocking at the door. It reflects Beethoven's lifelong personal struggles including his increasing deafness.

AHE’s presents the world premiere of William Watts's version of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, arranged around 1820. This unique arrangement is quite unlike any large-scale symphonic recording you may have heard or may be expecting! 

Beethoven's Fifth

Wesley Music Centre

Australian Digital Concert Hall

Port Macquarie

UD School of Music students performing mixed chamber music ensembles.

Mixed Chamber Recital II

University of Delaware

At the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert there was a lovely tradition of the stage being decorated with flowers from the Italian city of San Remo. It is even nicer that the CAMERATA now really makes flowers come to life at its New Year's concerts. Famous floral bouquets such as Mozart's Overture to the opera The Gardener for Love , Tchaikovsky's  Flower Waltz from the ballet The Nutcracker and Johann Strauss's Waltz Roses from the South as well as the Bouquet Quadrille are brought to bloom. The musical floral decoration also includes Lehár's magnificent waltz Wilde Rosen and the immortal melody of Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol from Zeller's operetta The Bird Seller in an instrumental version. The Japanese piano "rising star" Hayato Sumino will perform a movement from the piano concerto "Memo Flora" by his compatriot Takashi Yoshimatsu and, together with the Russian violinist and conductor Alexander Sitkovetsky and the CAMERATA musicians, will also allow the immortal melody of the Air Irlandois "The Golden Rose of Summer" to blossom in the setting by the German Romantic composer Ferdinand Ries.

MEMO FLORA New Year's Eve and New Year's Concert – Salzburg's most beautiful end-of-year event

Mozarteum Foundation

The words of the immortal bard find new meaning in chamber music by Saariaho and Stravinsky. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel—sister to Felix—proves there were two child prodigies in the family with this delightful Quartet, written when she was just 16 years old.  

Ferdinand Ries

Events

Upcoming events

Dec 31, 2025 - Jan 1, 2026

MEMO FLORA New Year's Eve and New Year's Concert – Salzburg's most beautiful end-of-year event · Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Feb 15, 2026

Serenading the Tempest · New World Symphony

Past events

Oct 30 - Nov 8, 2025

Beethoven's Eighth · Australian Haydn Ensemble

Apr 11, 2025

Immortally in love · Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg

About

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