Beethoven's whirldwind Eroica

Micheal Tilson Thomas takes on the challenge of Beethoven's 'sublime musical journey' his monumental Third Symphony - otherwise known as Eroica. Mighty and memorable, let MTT and The Philadelphia Orchestra sweep you up in its majesty.

The symphony began life as a tribute to Napoleon, but when the revolutionary French leader turned tyrant, Beethoven scribbled out the name of his original dedicatee, instead focusing on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the human spirit. It's considerable length, technically demanding playing and uncompromising aesthetics, from the angular dissonances of the first movement to the expressive range and explosive climax of the fourth, forced early audiences to rethink what a symphony should be - i.e. not just a decorative form of entertainment, but an earth-shattering and challenging intellectual pursuit.

The evening will also include the return of the out of this world talents of Leonidas Kavakos, and recitals of Ruth Crawford Seeger's Andante for Strings and Berg's Violin Concerto.