Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), unlike his Viennese colleague Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was not a man of foreign travel or tours. Only the occasional suitcase was packed to give concerts outside his hometown of Bonn or his later residence of Vienna. The first time was in November 1783 when Beethoven, along with his mother, sailed by boat from Bonn to Rotterdam before performing at the court of Stadholder William V in The Hague. Although the young pianist was royally rewarded, he is reported to have said afterwards, "Those Dutch are real thieves, they only have an eye for money there. They won't see me there again!"

Yet the Residentie Orkest has been playing his music for 120 years. Even before its first official concert in 1904, the orchestra performed Beethoven's Fifth. That famous Fifth will be played again next season, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the Residentie Orkest, conducted by chief conductor Anja Bihlmaier. But you can also enjoy Beethoven's Egmont and the piano concertos Nos. 3 and 4 played by Ronald Brautigam and Hannes Minnaar, respectively.