BEETHOVEN NINE!

ENSEMBLE STARGAZE

The Big Sing Festival Choir & Children’s Choir of the St. Bavo choir school

The Big Sing prides itself in innovative, progressive programming – giving new meaning and relevance to choral music is after all our DNA. This production proves we take that mission seriously! The renowned s t a r g a z e ensemble, with young, game-changing musicians from the Netherlands and Germany, shows the fruits of a 3-year long experiment in adapting all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies for a hip ensemble of only 13 musicians. The result, Beethoven Nine! has the famous last choral movement as it’s denouement, making it a perfect project for The Big Sing Festival Choir. This will also be our closing event in 2022. The adventure isn’t just musical: each of the 4 movements is transformed, each in a different way, and performed in separate spaces in the Philharmonie.

At the end we enter the magnificent main hall – where else? – to hear the Ode to Joy as it’s never been heard before. And for the doubtful: this wild experiment is exactly that but honours the music of Beethoven to the last note!
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Aart Strootman – conductor
Esmeralda Conde Ruiz – conductor
Arturo den Hartog – counter tenor