Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is all set for tonight’s concert at Katara Opera House featuring compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven, widely considered as the greatest composer who ever lived.
At the heart of the concert is Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major written during the most fecund phases of his creativity. 
Music lovers will enjoy this masterpiece which represents one of the crowning achievements of Beethoven’s exploration of the concerto demonstrating his mastery of the distinctive formal and dramatic forces of the concerto form.
Another Beethoven favourite, Symphony No. 1 in C Major will also be performed tonight. In four movements, this very first symphony written by the young Beethoven marks marked a new era in music.
One of the foremost figures in music history, Beethoven had been a tremendous influence across all genres of Western music extending for a long period of the 19th century.
Also in tonight’s concert repertoire is Bela Bartok’s Divertimento for String Orchestra written in three movements in 1939. A musical genre dating back to 18th century, divertimento is a lighthearted composition for a smaller music ensemble meant as a sort of entertainment for the audience. Bartok was considered as one of the most important composers of the 20th century .
Bartok was also a pianist, educator and a pioneering ethnomusicologist hailed as one of the great architects of musical history whose style is characterised by a nationalistic inspiration paralleled by the constant pursuit for new inspiration and experimentation.
Acclaimed German violinist Kolja Blacher (pictured) will conduct the concert as well as perform. Blacher studied at the Juilliard School of Music and has performed as a soloist all over the world, with orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, NDR Symphony and Gewandhaus Leipzig. His programmatic spectrum comprises works for solo violin from Bach to Berio, the classical-romantic core repertoire, and contemporary music for violin and orchestra. Qatar Philharmonic’s next concert is slated on April 6 at the Qatar National Convention Center Auditorium 3 featuring compositions by Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann. Under the baton of Karl-Heinz Steffens, the show will feature Oh Joo Young on violin and Kirill Bogatyrev on cello.