It would be Beethoven's most exuberant symphony – if it weren't for the funeral march in the second movement! But this has also made it world famous – you’ll certainly recognize it from films and TV. Otherwise, it’s all about celebration: Richard Wagner described Beethoven's symphony as "the apotheosis of the dance." And while we're on the subject of dance: the finale of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto was referred to by the Finnish composer’s contemporaries as a "polar bear polonaise": Nordic, robust, Scandinavian like the whole work – yet so virtuosic that one of the most important violin competitions was named after Sibelius. This classical hit will be presented at the Festspielhaus by France's violin star Renaud Capuçon.
