In late March the Wiener Symphoniker set off on a grand tour of China under the leadership of Music Director Philippe Jordan, and will pack their Beethoven symphonies cycle. They will be the first western symphony orchestra ever to perform all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies in Shanghai, paying their tribute to the booming love of classical music in the region.

It is a project of unparalleled magnitude – like no other work in musical history, this cycle represents the benchmark of an orchestra’s capabilities, not least on account of its imposing, indeed overwhelming, interpretation history.