Cathedral in Sound

First, a call to arms. Composed during the Napoleonic Wars, revolution was spreading across Europe, and you can hear it in Beethoven’s Egmont overture with its growling basses, stormy strings, and heraldic brass. Injustice, heroism, and rebellion against oppression, are condensed into this minidrama of an overture. The might of Beethoven later inspired Bruckner, but his music takes us to a place of contemplation rather than controversy. His symph...