Beethoven 250: Early Chamber Works

The Orchestra of Opera North continues its celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary with two chamber works from his third decade, sparkling with wit and invention.

Little is known about the background of the Sextet for Horns and String Quartet, thought to date from 1795, but its energetic and demanding horn parts suggest that it was written with some particularly accomplished players in mind.

Completed five years later, the Septet in E-flat major continues in the spirit of restless innovation. Beethoven’s initial pleasure at its success later turned to irritation, as he felt that it overshadowed subsequent works.

Programme
Sextet for Horns and String Quartet, Op. 81b
Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20