This new series of chamber music concerts performed by ONL musicians opens with a richly imaginative work by Beethoven. Composed for Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, the Septet for winds and strings was enthusiastically received at its premiere in 1800. Its classical form of six varied yet always joyful movements recall the divertimentos and serenades of Mozart and Haydn. But the piece also has one foot firmly planted in Romanticism: the balance between winds and strings is exceptional while the energy, vivacity and virtuosity of certain movements provide a foretaste of Beethoven’s mature masterpieces. This novel piece for its time is one of the composer’s most light-hearted yet simultaneously delicate works.