ACO Opens 2020 With Two Milestone Anniversaries

In 2020 the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will celebrate two monumental anniversaries: 30 years of fearless leadership with ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti and 250 years since the birth of the great Ludwig van Beethoven.

To kick off the celebrations, the ACO will open its 2020 Season in thrilling symphonic form as it presents 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 onstage by the extraordinary string students of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and wind and brass musicians from around the world to expand in size to 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. He was a true musical revolutionary and is credited with paving the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras.

"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 effervescent 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.

Beethoven 1, 2 & 3

8-17 February
Richard Tognetti Director Australian Chamber Orchestrawith musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM)

BEETHOVEN Symphony No.1
BEETHOVEN Symphony No.2
BEETHOVEN Symphony No.3 'Eroica'

CANBERRA
Llewellyn Hall
Sat 8 Feb, 8pm

MELBOURNE
Arts Centre Melbourne
Sun 9 Feb, 2.30pm
Mon 10 Feb, 7.30pm

BRISBANE
QPAC Concert Hall
Mon 17 Feb, 7pm

SYDNEY
City Recital Hall
Tue 11 Feb, 8pm
Wed 12 Feb, 7pm
Fri 14 Feb, 1.30pm
Sat 15 Feb, 7pm
Sun 16 Feb, 2pm