Hrůša & Bamberger Symphoniker: Beethoven 6 & 7
Discover Ludwig van Beethoven through performances of the complete symphonies and get a Beethoven pass featuring a range of experiences. On the third evening, you’ll be enchanted by the natural scenery of the Pastoral and the radiant Apotheosis of Dance with its immortal Allegretto!
Programme
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major Op. 68 “Pastoral”
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major Op. 92
Performers
- Bamberger Symphoniker
- Jakub Hrůša – conductor
#MeetBeethovenLive
1808 | Symphony No. 6
I once stated that “I love a tree more than a man,” and all this profound, genuine love that I have for nature I poured into my Sixth. Over the beautiful summer days I went on long walks in the country, during the daylight hours and at night, and I jotted down the sounds of nature in my notebook. I made at least one hundred and thirty sketches for the Pastoral Symphony and it took me many months of endeavour, in which “the yellow buntings overhead, the quails, the nightingales, and the cuckoos composed with me”. You will recognise them in the Scene by the Brook. The nightingale in the flute, the quail in the oboe, the cuckoo in the clarinets. And you will hear the babbling brook and the gentle lapping of the water in the strings’ pizzicato notes. All the hardships of my life retreated into the background, and my heart and mind were filled only with the beauty and harmony of nature.
1813 | Symphony No. 7
My stomach problems returned, along with that debilitating whistling in my ears. Despite this, in my wretched state, I began work on my Seventh in the summer of 1811. I was staying at that time at Teplitz spa in North Bohemia, a picturesque region which attracted such personages as Goethe and my friend Razumovsky. And the delightful Amalie Sebald. I returned to the embrace of those healing springs once more in 1812. It was there, in the House of the Golden Sun and in a state of uneasiness, that I wrote my famous letter to my Immortal Beloved. Yes, I am aware that this letter became the subject of much speculation, yet I will never reveal the name of the woman who was so crucial to my existence. But back to the Seventh. When Carl Maria von Weber heard it, he declared that I was “ripe for the madhouse”. Wagner, a gifted, if somewhat self-centred fellow, called it the apotheosis of the dance. And what of old Wieck, the father of Clara Schumann? He was convinced that I had been inebriated when I wrote it. However, only lunacy and ecstasy could defeat my physical and mental suffering.”
Interesting facts
- In 2026 readers of BBC Music Magazine included the Sixth and Seventh among the 27 greatest symphonies of all time, in addition to the composer’s Fifth, Ninth and Third (the last two mentioned were placed second and first respectively!).
- Music from the second movement of the Seventh – the famous Allegretto – has featured in more than twenty films to date, including the closing scene of the Academy Award-winning film The King’s Speech.
- French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier, percussionist André Arpino and bass player Benoît Dunoyer de Segonzac created ten jazz variations on the theme of the Allegretto from the Seventh Symphony, which they recorded for the Telarc label in 2003.
The 200th anniversary of the death of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) provides the Prague Spring with an opportunity to commemorate the wonderful oeuvre of this native of Bonn. The festival projects for 2027 are dominated by performances of the complete Beethoven symphonies by the Bamberg Symphony and conductor Jakub Hrůša who, with this project, rounds off his tenth season at the helm of this first-class orchestra. “Each of the nine symphonies opens a new musical world and expands the possibilities of the symphonic form. This is the central idea behind our programme: to make audible the arc of a lifelong artistic journey. Within a single concert – and even more so across the complete cycle – we can experience Beethoven’s extraordinary creative development and the constant reinvention of his musical language. We encounter not only the composer of heroic struggle, but also one of the greatest lyrical voices in symphonic music: a composer of tenderness, truthfulness and immense vitality, who embraced every aspect of life. For both musicians and audiences, it is an overwhelming experience to follow this journey together and discover the richness, contrasts and originality of each symphony,” Jakub Hrůša tells us.
Bamberg Symphony – Prague Spring 2027 Resident Orchestra
It is the 20th of March, 1946, shortly after eight o’clock in the evening. A tense silence prevails in Bamberg’s Zentralsaal as the newly founded ensemble plays the first few notes. Beethoven is on the programme. The Bamberg Symphony enters the concert arena through the music of arguably the greatest symphonist in history, and it is in his oeuvre that the orchestra finds its deep artistic roots…
Based in the picturesque Bavarian town of Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the orchestra has given 8,000 concerts in more than 500 cities in 64 countries and is thus one of the most frequently travelled symphonic ensembles in the world. They briefly define their mission as “resonating worldwide”. Their numerous recordings, released on such prestigious labels as Deutsche Grammophon and accentus music, have won a series of international awards, among them the German Record Critics’ Award 2021 and three International Classical Music Awards (2022, 2023 and 2025). The ensemble’s in-depth study of Beethoven’s music continually draws on the orchestra’s entire eighty-year history, supported by the endeavours of Joseph Keilberth, Sir Georg Solti, Eugen Jochum and Honorary Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Herbert Blomstedt. Today this legacy is further developed in close collaboration with Chief Conductor Jakub Hrůša. Under his direction Beethoven’s cycle represents not only a tribute to this great composer, but also a return to the orchestra’s own history. Beethoven is and remains the foundation of the Bamberg Symphony’s musical identity.
Beethoven’s symphonies according to Jakub Hrůša
17. 5. Rudolfinum
Symphony No. 1: To endure and to transcend.
Symphony No. 2: To expand and to exhilarate.
Symphony No. 3: To invoke and to celebrate.
18. 5. Rudolfinum
Symphony No. 4: To refresh and to play.
Symphony No. 5: To struggle and to triumph.
19. 5. Rudolfinum
Symphony No. 6: To contemplate and to melt away.
Symphony No. 7: To dance and to rejoice.
25. 5. Rudolfinum
Symphony No. 8: To reflect and to refine.
Symphony No. 9: To tear down and to rebuild. To unite profoundly.
Other concerts as part of the Bamberger Symphoniker’s orchestra residency
Hrůša & Bamberger Symphoniker: Beethoven 1, 2 & 3
Discover Ludwig van Beethoven through performances of his complete symphonies and get a Beethoven pass offering a range of experiences. The first evening will feature Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, and the most popular symphony of all time, the Eroica!
Hrůša & Bamberger Symphoniker: Beethoven 4 & 5
Discover Ludwig van Beethoven through performances of the complete symphonies and get a Beethoven pass featuring a range of experiences. On the second evening, Fate will be performed, paired with the charming Symphony No. 4.
Hrůša & Bamberger Symphoniker: Beethoven 8 & 9
Discover Ludwig van Beethoven through performances of his complete symphonies and get a Beethoven pass offering a range of experiences. We’ll bid farewell to the ticking metronome in Symphony No. 8 and to the Ninth with the Ode to Joy!
