Portrait of a smiling orchestra conductor wearing a black tailcoat and white bow tie, holding a baton against a maroon background.
The Ibercamera series brings the Vienna Symphony Orchestra to L’Auditori for a concert of Beethoven’s music, conducted by its principal conductor, Petr Popelka. Rudolf Buchbinder, one of the foremost interpreters of Beethoven, performs Piano Concerto No. 4, which opens unexpectedly with a solo passage for piano. The programme also includes Symphony No. 3, the Eroica, a work that took the classical symphony in a bold new direction. Two sides of the same composer in a single evening.

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Before it was called the Eroica, Beethoven’s symphony bore the title Bonaparte. When Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, Beethoven crossed out his name with such force that he tore holes in the score.
At its public premiere in 1805, the symphony was criticised by some for its length. At the time, it was the longest symphony ever written.