Beethoven Gala Evening // Várdai / Abouzahra A. / Berecz / Keller

This year’s Concerto Budapest season trains the spotlight on Beethoven. The first, the Choral Fantasy, is a uniquely structured piece that the author composed at the last minute as a kind of concluding piece to his marathon-length Viennese benefit concert in 1808. The Eighth Symphony (in F major), written in 1812, differs from its heavily dramatic counterparts in being one of Beethoven’s most cheerful and lively works; evocative and rich in contrasts, it is distinguished by the exceptional perfection of its orchestration.