Walks in the countryside, wild dances, and ‘winking’ at Beethoven.

Prepare for a full, Beethovenian immersion in the next instalment of Kazuki’s symphonic cycle. Between one of Beethoven’s sunniest symphonies and one of his most athletic is John Adams’ Absolute Jest: a homage, a nod, and a wink to Beethoven’s late string quartets. Initially, we might wonder where Beethoven is inside Adams’ rhythmic, very personal style; but as Adams put it, “There is nothing particularly new about one composer internalizing the music of another and “making it his own.”’ Before and after Adams is Beethoven himself. Both the ‘Pastoral’ No.6 and the propulsive No.7 are as vibrant now as they were in the 1800s.