October 24 and 25 performances at Symphony Hall include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 featuring guest fortepianist Tanguy de Williencourt in his H+H debut.
BOSTON | Renowned French conductor Raphaël Pichon returns to Boston to lead the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra in an all-Beethoven program at Symphony Hall on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25. The program begins with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 featuring French pianist Tanguy de Williencourt in his H+H debut, followed by Beethoven’s energetic and dance-like Symphony No. 7 performed on period instruments like those the composer wrote for. The 2025-26 Season marks H+H’s 125th season performing at Symphony Hall since it opened in October 1900.
One of the most in-demand interpreters of early music working today, Raphaël Pichon made his American conducting debut with H+H in 2021. In March 2024, Pichon led the H+H Orchestra in sold-out performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to mark the 200th anniversary of the premiere of this iconic work. Pichon is the founder of the celebrated ensemble Pygmalion and recognized for his innovative, narrative-based approach to leading historically informed orchestras like H+H, presenting Baroque and Classical music as the composers originally intended.
“Raphaël Pichon is a masterful conductor,” said H+H Acting CEO Lilee Dethchan-Beltran. “It’s an honor to welcome him back to Boston to lead our exceptionally talented orchestra. Audiences can expect these performances to be delivered with passion and vibrancy, allowing Beethoven’s 200-year-old music to seem fresh and new.”
Premiered ten years apart, both in Vienna, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and his Seventh Symphony bookend a period of remarkable artistic achievement by Beethoven despite the challenge of his progressive hearing loss. Beethoven performed as soloist for the premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 3 in April 1803, improvising and playing from memory as he did not write out the complete piano part until later. He conducted the premiere of his Seventh Symphony in December 1813, a success that included an encore of the second movement. This popular second movement, the emotionally rich Allegretto, is often played as a stand-alone composition.
Pianist, conductor, and sought-after chamber musician Tanguy de Williencourt performs in venues in France and beyond alongside the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Paris Opera, Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayreuth Festival, and others. He teaches piano at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and is artistic director of the Tempo festival Le Croisic.
Concert Information
The Handel and Haydn Society presents Beethoven Symphony No. 7 at Symphony Hall (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston) on Friday, October 24 at 7:30pm and Saturday, October 25 at 2:00pm.
Members of H², H+H’s community for culturally curious adults ages 21-40, are invited to a reception immediately following the Friday, October 24 performance. A $99 H² membership includes tickets to three blockbuster H+H performances throughout the season plus events before and after concerts, including mixers with H+H musicians, behind-the-scenes experiences, and more.
Individual tickets as well as subscription packages for H+H’s 2025-26 Season are now on sale at handelandhaydn.org or by calling the H+H Box Office at 617.262.1815.
Musically Speaking
Forty-five minutes prior to each performance, all guests are welcome to attend “Musically Speaking” in Higginson Hall. Hosted by H+H’s Christopher Hogwood Historically Informed Performance Fellow, Teresa Neff, “Musically Speaking” provides background and context about the music and composer(s) on the program.
About the Handel and Haydn Society
Boston’s Grammy-winning Handel and Haydn Society performs Baroque and Classical music with a freshness, a vitality, and a creativity that inspires all ages. Called “one of the most exciting ensembles of historically informed performances in the world” (OperaWire), H+H has been captivating audiences for 211 consecutive seasons (the most of any performing arts organization in the United States), speaking to its singular success at welcoming new audiences to this extraordinary music, generation after generation.
H+H performed the “Hallelujah” Chorus from Handel’s Messiah in its first concert in 1815, gave the American premiere in 1818, and ever since has been both a musical and a civic leader in the Boston community. During the Civil War, H+H gave numerous concerts in support of the Union Army (H+H member Julia Ward Howe wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) and on January 1, 1863, H+H performed at the Grand Jubilee Concert celebrating the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation. Two years later, H+H performed at the memorial service for Abraham Lincoln.
H+H’s Orchestra and Chorus delight more than 76,000 listeners annually through concerts at Symphony Hall and other leading venues as well as radio broadcasts. Through the Karen S. and George D. Levy Learning and Education Program, H+H supports seven youth choirs of singers in grades 2–12 and provides thousands of complimentary tickets to students and communities throughout Boston, ensuring the joy of music is accessible to all. H+H provides deeply discounted tickets and hosts special events for undergraduate students and concertgoers under 40 through the H+H Masterpass and H² membership programs. H+H has released 16 CDs on the CORO label and has toured nationally and internationally. In all these ways, H+H fulfills its mission to inspire the intellect, touch the heart, elevate the soul, and connect all of us with our shared humanity through transformative experiences with Baroque and Classical music.