The Dissonant Dawn | Beethoven's First Symphony

On the evening of April 2, 1800, a packed Viennese concert hall hears something strange: a symphony that refuses to begin in its own key. It's the first public statement of a 29-year-old named Beethoven — and the opening chord alone tells you he has no intention of playing by anyone else's rules. Step inside the night that classical music stopped being polite.

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