Omer Meir Wellber and BBC Philharmonic launched new in-conversation series

• First series of The Music Room: Reflecting Beethoven launched online on Thursday 16 July, 9pm (CET)
• The series features musicians from the BBC Philharmonic and special guests including Craig Charles, Maureen Lipman, Stephen Hough, Sally Beamish, Lorenzo Mariani, Fredun Mazaheri, Tom Redmond and Laura Tunbridge

The BBC Philharmonic released The Music Room, a filmed online in-conversation series hosted by Chief Conductor Omer Meir Wellber that begins by exploring each of Beethoven’s nine symphonies.

Each episode reflects Beethoven through various, out-of-the-ordinary aspects portrayed by special guests such as Beethoven himself, Napoleon, Freud, Schindler, Schiller, Goethe and the Immortal Beloved. Beethoven’s autopsy is also unearthed and analysed by audiologist Sonja Jones to explore the fascinating theories behind Beethoven’s infamous hearing loss.

The conversations, filmed during lockdown and with some guests hundreds of miles apart, brings the innovative offer for audiences that the BBC Philharmonic and Wellber are known for to a new format.

The Music Room collaborations feature musicians from the BBC Philharmonic taking an informal look at Beethoven’s music and exploring new ideas – reaching audiences in a new way whilst not being able to come together on stage.

The launch accompanied a rare release of archive performances of Beethoven’s symphonies on the BBC Philharmonic website, all previously recorded at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall.

Omer Meir Wellber, Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, said:
"Working on this series with our musicians and guests has been a wonderful way to make something for, and stay close to, our audiences. In this lockdown period, I wanted to bring something unexpected, interesting and new to enable us to be together, apart."

Episodes will be released weekly on the BBC Philharmonic's website and Facebook page every Thursday from 16 July at 9.00pm (CET). The orchestra's archive performances of Beethoven's symphonies will also be available on the website as of immediate effect.

Notes to Editors

Omer Meir Wellber
Omer Meir Wellber has established himself as one of today’s leading conductors of operatic and orchestral repertoire alike. He currently divides his time up between his positions of Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, Music Director of the Teatro Massimo Palermo as well as of the Raanana Symphonette in Israel and Principal Guest Conductor at the Semperoper Dresden.

He has conducted some of the world’s most prestigious ensembles, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich and works regularly with the Gewandhausorchestra Leipzig, the Swedish Radio Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Dresden. In addition to ongoing international appearances as a conductor, he is also a published author and maintains an active role in his native country of Israel, collaborating with ensembles in the region and promoting music integration projects.

The BBC Philharmonic
The BBC Philharmonic is based at MediaCityUK in Salford and normally performs an annual season of concerts at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, as well as giving regular concerts in Hanley, Leeds, Kendal and other venues across the north of England. As one of the BBC’s six performing groups the orchestra records and performs concerts for BBC Radio 3. Most of the concerts the orchestra performs each year are broadcast on Radio 3.

bbc.co.uk/philharmonic
Facebook: BBC Philharmonic

Being Beethoven
This year the BBC celebrates 250 years since Beethoven’s birth through Beethoven Unleashed, a BBC-wide programme running throughout 2020 and includes the release of The Music Room.