The most famous concert of all time…?
CEFC musical director David Temple writes: I have long been fascinated by possibly the most famous concert of all time - on December 22 1808. The concert included Mass in C. Look at this from Wikipedia.
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony was premiered on December 22, 1808 at a mammoth concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna consisting entirely of Beethoven premieres, and directed by Beethoven himself. The performance took more than four hours. The two symphonies appeared on the program in the reverse order of what we know them today: the Sixth was first, and the Fifth appeared in the second half. The program was as follows:
The Sixth Symphony
Aria: “Ah, perfido”, Op. 65
The Gloria movement of the Mass in C Major
The Fourth Piano Concerto (played by Beethoven himself)
(Intermission)
The Fifth Symphony
The Sanctus and Benedictus movements of the C Major Mass
A solo piano improvisation played by Beethoven
The Choral Fantasy

