Kinks and Quirks: Beethoven’s First Symphony (SF)

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 marks the start of one of music’s greatest journeys. Alongside it, pieces by C.P.E. Bach, Mozart, and Mendelssohn bring unexpected twists and striking contrasts kinks and quirks all performed on period instruments so you can hear the music as Beethoven and his contemporaries once did.

Imagine hearing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 for the very first time—its opening catching listeners off guard, its wit and energy signaling something entirely new. At Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra concerts, performed on gut strings, valveless trumpets and horns, and wooden flutes, you’ll hear the music much as early audiences did, with a clarity and vivid sound that electrified its first listeners.

Kinks and Quirks
Thursday – Saturday, April 23-25, 2026
Tickets start at $40-$125; $20 for Under 30s

Full Schedule:

• Thursday, April 23, 2026 – 7:30pm
  Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
• Friday, April 24, 2026 – 7:30pm
  First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto
• Saturday, April 25, 2026 – 2:30pm
  First Congregational Church, Berkeley

In Kinks and Quirks, violinist and conductor Shunske Sato, “a musical force to be reckoned with” (South Florida Classical Review) traces Beethoven’s originality back to the symphonies of C.P.E. Bach, whose daring, unpredictable musical “kinks and quirks” shaped a generation of composers, from Mozart to Beethoven to a teenage Mendelssohn. The program brings these connections to life, pairing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 with C.P.E. Bach’s surprising Symphony in F major, Mendelssohn’s youthful Violin Concerto, and Mozart’s theatrical Thamos, King of Egypt. Sato leads these season-finale performances.

Program

• Shunske Sato – violin and leader
• C.P.E. BACH – Symphony No. 3 in F major
• MOZART – Incidental Music from Thamos, King of Egypt
• MENDELSSOHN – Concerto for Violin and Strings in D minor
• BEETHOVEN – Symphony No. 1 in C major

What’s Interesting About This Concert

• Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 launched his remarkable symphonic career, setting the stage for the works that would change music forever.
• C.P.E. Bach’s Symphony in F major delivers sudden shifts and quirky surprises that fascinated both audiences and later composers.
• Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor, composed when he was only 13, brims with youthful brilliance and intensity, while Mozart’s rarely heard Thamos, King of Egypt lends theatrical flair to the program.
• Audience favorite violinist Shunske Sato, “a musical force to be reckoned with” (South Florida Classical Review), leads these thrilling season finale performances.

philharmonia.org | (415) 295-1900.

 

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