On November 20-24, 2013, a series of concerts by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Christian Thielemann took place in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow. During the four concerts, Europe’s oldest symphony orchestra performed all symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The Moscow tour of the Vienna Philharmonic became a landmark in the cultural life of Russia’s capital city. The famous orchestra has performed all of the great composer’s symphonies only for the 15^th time in its history, leaving the audience amazed at the perfect and profound interpretation of each piece.

During the first two evenings, the orchestra performed Symphonies No. 4 through No. 7. After that the audience enjoyed the early Symphonies No. 1 and 2, as well as the “Heroic” Symphony No. 3. The closing concert of the tour included the two later Symphonies No. 8 and 9, with the choir of V. S. Popov Academy of Choral Art and singers Sun Yang Seo (soprano), Svetlana Shilova (mezzo-soprano), Steve Davislim (tenor), and Robert Hall (bass-baritone).

For Maestro Christian Thielemann, the great connoisseur of Austrian and German music, history and culture of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, who is invariably invited to conduct Beethoven at the Vienna Philharmonic, it was the first visit to Moscow. His thorough knowledge of the composer’s works and his complete unity with the orchestra helped convey the true spirit of Beethoven’s epoch, leaving every music lover deeply moved.

Irina Nikitina, President of the Musical Olympus Foundation: “The Vienna Philharmonic tour performing such a programme is undoubtedly a historic occasion. For four days Moscow enjoyed the powerful flow of Beethoven’s music. The greatest music reaches perfection and acquires the ability to inspire only if it is masterfully performed. The listener then finds himself one with the music and his spirit soars, a feeling unmatched by any other experience. That was what every one of us felt after the Vienna Philharmonic’s concerts”.