Beethoven Orchestra Bonn
Chouchane Siranossian, violin and musical direction

Program:

• Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827
  Musik zu einem Ritterballett WoO 1
• Andreas Romberg 1767-1821
  Violin concerto No. 7 in A major
• Graf Ferdinand von Waldstein und Wartenberg 1762-1823
  Symphony D major

Actually, the great musician Chouchane Siranossian had planned to perform Andreas Romberg’s Violin Concerto No. 8 in E-flat major with us in autumn 2022 – then she fell ill at short notice and our concertmaster Mikhail Ovrutsky stepped in. We are happy that we can make up for the meeting of the young Armenian-French violinist and our orchestra so quickly, and that the research team at the University of Vienna has discovered another Romberg violin concerto that had been lost for 200 years: Once again a true revival in our Hofkapellen series! And if the 7th concerto is just as virtuosic, elegant and ravishing as the 8th concerto, we can all look forward to this rebirth. To this end, we will take a closer look at Count Waldstein in this concert and the audience can play »Original and Falsification«: The young Beethoven had written his so-called Ritterballett for a celebration in Bonn, commissioned by Count Ferdinand von Waldstein. He was a friend of Beethoven and supported him wherever he could. It was he who wrote in Beethoven’s family album before he left for Vienna that, if he worked diligently, he would receive »Mozart’s spirit from Haydn’s hands«. As far as the Ritterballett is concerned, it should be noted that Waldstein probably not only supported Beethoven, but also profited from him. For Waldstein was also an ambitious composer and at least did not object when the piece initially ran under his name for a few years. It is good that today various societies put a stop to such copyright infringements. In this concert, the audience can form its own opinion as to whether the Ritterballett could have been written by Waldstein – for we play Waldstein’s stormy and fresh Symphony in D major as the main work of the evening. A memorable set!