Ouverture Egmont in F minor, op. 84
Symphony No.4 in B flat major, op. 60
Symphony No.7 in A major, op. 92

Johannes Leertouwer about this recording: “ The Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht is a project-based orchestra made up of musicians with extremely varied backgrounds from orchestras such as: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestra of the 18th Century and the Netherlands Bach Society. This recording is Beethoven as performed today, as a dramatic tale that is launched into the auditorium by a group of committed musicians not only with energy and expertise but also with knowledge of the work’s history and of historic performance practice and performing on suitable instruments. Principal objective in so doing is to serve the music and to open the doors to another world, one that is as removed from daily reality.”

“ The combination of Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh symphonies is for me indissolubly linked with the name of Carlos Kleiber. When I was studying violin I began playing as a substitute player in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra shortly after Carlos Kleiber had made his famous live recordings of these symphonies with the orchestra. To this day I regret that I couldn’t have started a few months earlier, because that particular recording with Kleiber must have been a particularly special experience for every musician who took part.”

“In closing I would like to mention two characteristics of historical performance practice that I feel are very much present and audible on this recording. The first of these is the timbre of the various tonalities. Another particularity of these instruments is that they must be played to their full potential in order to do the music justice; if they are, then the heroically dramatic and heaven-storming qualities of Beethoven’s music come tangibly closer.”