Heroism to villainy told through a symphony as Ulster Orchestra's, The Hero's Journey comes to the Ulster Hall, Belfast on 21 November 2025.
Samy Moussa Elysium
Dvořák Violin Concerto
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 Eroica
GABRIEL BEBEȘELEA CONDUCTOR
ALENA BAEVA VIOLIN
Heroes are dangerous – they can inspire us to great things, or, if they stumble, shatter our illusions. Elysium by Samy Moussa finds us in the everlasting paradise where heroes dwell; majestic, virtuous and ecstatically triumphant. Beethoven’s Third Symphony lost its original dedication when Napoleon turned from hero to villain and the epigraph simply became ‘Heroic... dedicated to the memory of a great man’; this extraordinary, revolutionary symphony makes a hero of Beethoven himself. Dvořák’s Violin Concerto was not written for a hero so much as a friend and collaborator in Joseph Joachim and it is bursting with Czech folk music influences, especially in its skirling, dancing final movement.
