Beethoven's music is timeless and arguably some of the best and most passionate music ever written.
Experience the power of Beethoven's Symphonies and Piano Concertos performed by the dynamic internationally acclaimed Australian Youth Orchestra, under the baton of distinguished American conductor, John Nelson.

Beethoven is the cornerstone of the symphonic repertoire. His music is the culmination of everything that came before him and has influenced nearly everything that has come since. These works were forged out of great intellectual struggle and superhuman intensity. They resound with passion, celebration and innovation. Everyone will recognise at least one theme from these great works.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear the world's most exciting young musicians perform these great works that are the core of western music's cultural achievement.


THURSDAY 24 JULY Performance - Festival Theatre, 8pm
Piano Concerto No. 1 Symphony No. 4

Pre-performance talk with Timothy Sexton - Piano Bar, 7pm FREE
A SCORE IS SETTLED - Beethoven repays his musical debt to Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven's Opus 15 Piano Concerto extended Haydn and particularly Mozart's legacy. But it was in the Fourth Symphony that Beethoven showed the world that he really understood what these two great composers were on about. In this talk, Tim Sexton explores the beginnings of the Beethoven style.

FRIDAY 25 JULY Performance - Festival Theatre, 8pm
Piano Concerto No. 4 Symphony No.3 Eroica

Pre-performance talk with Timothy Sexton - Piano Bar, 7pm FREE
BLOWN APART BY BONAPARTE - Triumphant Tones for Turbulent Times. Beethoven's Third Symphony was a revelation, and the longest symphony conceived up to that time. It held a mirror to the incredible upheavals in Europe at the turn of the 19th Century. The Fourth Piano Concerto was no less revolutionary. Tim Sexton explores these two fascinating works and the dramatic world in which they were conceived.

SATURDAY 26 JULY Performance - Festival Theatre, 8pm
Piano Concert No.5 Emperor Symphony No. 5

Pre-performance talk with Timothy Sexton - Piano Bar, 7pm FREE
FATAL BEETHOVEN - Or the Emperor's new clothes. Tim Sexton looks at the emergence of the real Beethoven - master of all things musical and sweeping musical form before him. The astonishing impact of both the Fifth Symphony and the symphonically conceived Emperor Concerto changed the way music was viewed. Tim discusses these two incredible works and their lasting legacy.