Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808

Akademie

Detail of an 1804–05 Beethoven portrait by J. W. Mähler
Time	22 December 1808
Venue	Theater an der Wien
Location	Vienna
Programme: Symphony No. 6 "Ah! perfido" "Gloria" from Mass in C major Piano Concerto No. 4 Symphony No. 5 "Sanctus" from Mass in C major Extemporised fantasia for piano Choral Fantasy

The Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808 was a benefit concert held for Ludwig van Beethoven at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna that featured the public premieres of Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Choral Fantasy. This concert, advertised as an Akademie (the German term for concert at that time), was held in a very cold hall and lasted about four hours. Its featured performers were an orchestra, chorus, vocal soloists, and Beethoven as the conductor and piano soloist. Beethoven biographer Barry Cooper calls the concert's content the "most remarkable" of Beethoven's career.^[1]