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Unitel and Classica present

The Beethoven cycleof the 21 st century!Christian Thielemann, one of the most recognized conductorsof our time, joins forces with the prestigious WienerPhilharmoniker and UNITEL, the world’s leading audiovisualproduction company for classical music, in a monumentalproject: BEETHOVEN 9, the recording of all nine symphoniesby Ludwig van Beethoven for TV, DVD and New Media: the“Beethoven cycle of the 21 st century”!Using the newest technology of our century, UNITELand Austrian Television (ORF) produce this “super-cycle”in the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein in HD and 5.0Surround Sound. BEETHOVEN 9 kicked off in December2008 with the recording of the First and Second Symphonies.At the rate of two recordings per year, the cycle will becompleted by April 2010. The genesis and unfolding of thisproject will be accompanied by a documentary Making of…Beethoven, filmed in HD.Between 2010 and 2013 the orchestra will crown theventure with special event performances of the complete cyclein major cities around the world. These concert cycles willrank among the musical highlights of these years. They will beaccompanied by the recordings, which will be released priorto the start of the world tour, when international attention isat its peak. Music lovers can enjoy Beethoven’s symphonieseither live in the host cities or on television, Internet or DVD.Live transmission from the Golden Hall is possible alreadyduring the recording stage.BEETHOVEN 9 brings to a new climax the longstandingcollaboration between Thielemann, who enjoys a sterlingreputation as an interpreter of Beethoven and the GermanSpecial Feature: Documentary SeriesThe Conquest of the Symphonic CosmosThe monumental achievement of Christian Thielemann and theWiener Philharmoniker forms the basis for this series of stimulatingyet highly entertaining films that supplement “Beethoven 9”. Theyguide the viewer into the cosmos of Beethoven’ssymphonies – and into Christian Thielemann’sconception of them.Each 60-minute program focuses on one particularsymphony, which it presents in the context ofBeethoven’s oeuvre, Thielemann’s interpretation,and the work’s artistic and historical position.While Thielemann introduces the viewer to thefine points of his interpretation, the renownedmusic critic Joachim Kaiser depicts the uniquefeatures of the work and the interpretation, and provides revealingcomparisons with other readings of the Beethoven symphonies.Romantics, and the Wiener Philharmoniker, which has beencultivating the music of Beethoven since its founding nearly170 years ago and is one of the few great orchestras to havepreserved its unique sound. UNITEL CLASSICA can lookback on more than 40 years of collaboration with the WienerPhilharmoniker and on its pioneering cycles of Beethoven’ssymphonic works with Herbert von Karajan and LeonardBernstein.In so doing, Kaiser is able to draw upon a treasure that only UNITELis able to provide: the recordings of the legendary Beethoven cycleswith Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bern stein, concert productionswith acknowledged Beethoven expertssuch as Böhm and Kleiber, as well as recordingsof Beethoven symphonies with world starsof today such as Gustavo Dudamel and PaavoJärvi.Joachim Kaiser, the most influential music, dramaand literary critic in the German-languagecountries, is not only famous for his countlessarticles, reviews and books, but has also succeededin keeping classical music young andalive. His “Klavier Kaiser” CDs, in which he provides a wealth offascinating information on piano music, have become best-sellers.