Beethoven 200

Four concerts. One extraordinary year of chamber music. To mark 200 years since Beethoven's death, Hughes Hall presents a season of four concerts exploring his chamber music across the academic year 20206/27— from violin and cello sonatas to string quartets and piano trios. The series is presented as satellite concerts of FIA, Hughes Hall's annual Festival of International Artists. Programme Note This programme follows Beethoven's journey with the violin sonata by beginning not with Beethoven, but with the musical world he inherited. Mozart's Sonata K. 454 presents violin and piano in an increasingly equal and expressive partnership, creating a model that the young Beethoven would soon inherit and challenge. In Beethoven's Op. 12 No. 3, we hear a composer still connected to the Classical tradition, but already stretching its boundaries through virtuosity, scale and an unmistakable force of personality. By the time we reach the Kreutzer Sonata, that world has been transformed. What began as an intimate conversation between two instruments has become something almost orchestral in its ambition and intensity. Heard together, these three works allow us to experience not simply three great sonatas, but the extraordinary transformation of a genre from Mozart to Beethoven. Miclen LaiPang ~ violin Nigel Yandell ~ piano CONCERT 1: Violin and Piano Violin and Piano Programme Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Sonata in B-flat major, K. 454 Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 12 No. 3 Interval Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47, "Kreutzer" Support Hughes Hall Music We believe that great music should be available to all, regardless of ability to pay. That is why tickets for our FIA Satellite Series (Beethoven 200) — four concerts across the academic year 2026/27 — remain free to book. Of course, concerts of this quality don’t come without cost. That is why you can choose a free ticket, or an Angel Ticket, which includes a suggested £20 donation that goes some way towards the cost of presenting them. We hope you’ll agree that it’s a small amount for an evening of exceptional music in the intimate setting of the Pavilion Room. Through making this contribution, you are helping us keep these concerts free for those who otherwise could not afford to attend.