Beethoven Academy Utrecht

Complete cycles of Beethoven’s symphonies were recorded with period instruments in the 1980s and 1990s, and the repertoire has since been repeatedly revisited. It might therefore be assumed that a new approach would offer little that is genuinely fresh. This assumption is profoundly mistaken.

Over the past two decades the knowledge base of Classical and Romantic performance practices has advanced dramatically. We now know that many of the conventions applied in early period-instrument recordings — strict tempo, inflexible rhythm, late-20th-century bowing techniques and articulations — are fundamentally at odds with what Beethoven and his contemporaries expected.

It is vitally important to constantly reconsider the ways we perform Beethoven’s music. This can prevent us from falling into repetition and reducing the music to a mere beautiful sound phenomenon. The most inspiring and dynamic force that helps us find fresh perspectives on Beethoven’s music remains historical research. Through the pathway of Historically Informed Performance Practice, musicians can overcome ingrained conventions and rediscover the expressive power of forgotten 19th-century playing styles and expressive tools.

The evidence is now overwhelming that Beethoven assumed a far more flexible approach, including a wide range of tempo modifications and rubato practices that are absent from all existing recordings. Their effective application would transform our understanding of his music. To persist with the late-20th-century aesthetic is to betray both the letter and the spirit of Beethoven’s intentions.

In my PhD research into unprescribed modifications of tempo and rhythm in orchestral music of Brahms, at Leiden University, I have developed a way to investigate research findings with an orchestra, resulting in profoundly different sounding results with a clear connection to historical performing practices. In my approach, the orchestra functions as a kind of laboratory in which experimentation can lead to a new understanding of historical expressive tools. Rehearsals, performances and recordings with the orchestra thus become an exciting part of the research itself. In laboratory of the orchestra, students, young professionals and seasoned experts, shared their knowledge, experience and perspectives. This has proven a particularly important quality when it comes to finding paths outside the established traditions. The students are a key factor in creating an open climate in which new discoveries can be made and they play a vital role in dissemination of the findings.

For the past three years, I have been working in Seoul as a professor of Historically Informed Performance Practice at the Seoul National University, while my commitments in the Netherlands for the Conservatory van Amsterdam, the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, and the Narratio Quartet continued. Now, I have completed my work in South Korea, my relationship with the CvA, to which I have been connected for over 35 years, has settled into calmer waters, and the recordings of the complete Beethoven string quartets with the Narratio Quartet (a world premiere on period instruments) has been completed and released. This allows me to present an ambitious plan in the home city of my orchestra.

Under the umbrella of de Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, I propose to launch the Beethoven Academy Utrecht, offering participants the opportunity to study and perform all nine Beethoven symphonies in the lead-up to the Beethoven year.

Planning

Program 1, January  26–31, 2026
Symphony nr. 2 in D, op. 36 and Symphony nr. 4 in Bes, op. 60
Orchestra: 7,6,5,5,3 (26 strings) 2-2-2-2 (woodwind) 2-2-0-0 (brass) timpani (minimum 39 musicians)

Program 2, June 15-20, 2026
Symphony nr. 1 in C, op. 21 and Symphony nr. 3 in Es, Eroica, op. 55
Orchestra: 7,6,5,5,3 (26 strings) 2-2-2-2 (woodwind) 3-2-0-0 (brass) timpani (minimum 40 musicians)

Program 3, September 28–October 3)
Symphony nr. 5 in c, op. 67 and Symphony nr. 6 in F, Pastorale, op. 68
Orchestra: 7,6,5,5,3 (26 strings) 3*-2-2-3* (woodwind) 2-2-3-0 brass) timpani (minimum 44 musicians)

Program 4, March 1–6, 2027
Symphony nr. 7 in A, op. 92 and Symphony nr. 8 in F, op. 93
Orchestra: 7,6,5,5,3 (26 strings) 2-2-2-2 (woodwind) 2-2-0-0 (brass) timpani (minimum 39 musicians)

Program 5, June 28 – July 4, 2027
Symphony nr. 9 in d, Choral, op. 125 (60
Orchestra: 7,6,5,5,3 (26 strings) 3*-2-2-3* (woodwind) 4-2-3-0 (brass) timpani+3 (minimum 49 musicians) choir (60?)