BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 2026/27 Season Beethoven Symphony No. 9

“O Freunde, nicht diese töne!” So begins Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy, commencing the revolutionary choral finale of Beethoven’s last symphony: a universalist paean for peace and brotherhood.

Beethoven’s solo bass commands his friends to come together, singing cheerful songs full of joy. Pauline Oliveros also seeks unity through singing. ‘Listen with your mind’s ear for a tone,’ she writes, beginning a chain of sonic community-making through sharing, matching and supporting.

In between are two works which play with fragments from musical history. After hearing a performance of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, John Adams was inspired by the composer’s magpie‑ish acquisition of older works. Adams’s source is Beethoven’s late string quartets – Op. 131, Op. 135, and the Grosse Fuge – moments of which he weaves into a 25‑minute work for string quartet and orchestra. Williams, meanwhile, blurs and stretches the famous Byrd piece he sang as a boy treble.

Anja Bihlmaier. Photo: Phil Sharp