Australian Chamber Orchestra - Beethoven and Bridgetower by Various, From (2022/2022), Directed by Richard Tognetti, Milton Court Concert Hall, London, United Kingdom

Revolutionary music at its most super-charged: the exhilarating Australian Chamber Orchestra celebrate the radical music of Beethoven, and the inspiration he’s sparked ever since. Beethoven meets violinist George Bridgetower, ripping the classical sonata wide open in the iconic 9th Sonata, dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer. Then, inspired by Tolstoy’s novella of obsessive jealousy (inspired by Beethoven), Janáček pushes the string quartet to its limits in his own fraught Kreutzer. The ACO and their maverick music director Richard Tognetti expand both masterpieces for full orchestra before putting them under the microscope. But first, regular ACO collaborator William Barton combines his spellbinding blend of vocals and virtuosic didgeridoo playing. The orchestra meet a kindred spirit in the form of Thomas Adès, whose evocative Shanty embraces the progressive spirit of the composers who inspire him. And in the midst are two more pioneers of their times: Ruth Crawford Seeger and George Walker.