Concert by invitation only
United Nations Day
Concert to mark the 81st anniversary of the UN
Saturday
24.10.2026
19:30 — Victoria Hall, Geneva
Artistic Partner
Programme
Ton Koopmanconductor
Orchestre de la Haute école de musique de Genèveorchestra & voice
Orchestre de la Suisse Romandeorchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'with a finale chorus on Schiller's Ode to Joy'
Approximately 1h10 without intermission
The music
Every year, to mark United Nations Day, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) organises a concert with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. It is an opportunity to bring together and thank those who work to promote peace and respect for human rights.
The Haute École de Musique and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande are continuing their long-standing collaboration by joining forces to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, under the baton of Ton Koopman.
The result of a creative process spanning more than 30 years, the Ninth breaks with the purely instrumental symphonic tradition through its choral finale. Imbued with revolutionary ideals, this powerful symphony celebrates the triumph of human courage over an often ungrateful fate.
The orchestration features striking contrasts: orchestral tutti passages of almost physical intensity, dialogues between the sections in which each instrument seems to have a voice of its own, and a finale in which the strings, woodwinds and brass unite to lift the choral singing to a luminous climax.
The choir and soloists – comprising students, teachers and alumni – are from the HEM’s vocal department.
