Cairo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ahmed El-Saedi will perform W.A. Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 549 and L. van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 ‘Eroica’.

The 39th Symphony of Mozart is a concert hall staple. It is the first of a set of three symphonies composed in the summer of 1788.

Eroica by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1803 and first performed on 7 April 1805, in Vienna.

It is known that Beethoven wanted to compose a symphony dedicated to General Bonaparte for his deeds since in 1798. Most of the music was composed in the summer of 1803. In May 1804, when news reached Vienna that Napoleon had declared himself emperor, Beethoven felt betrayed by the man he now considered a tyrant. According to an account written later by his student Ferdinand Ries, when he broke the news to Beethoven, the composer "went to the table, took hold of the title page by the top, tore it in two, and threw it to the floor." Following this incident, Beethoven changed the planned title of the work from Heroic Symphony [Sinfonia Eroica], composed to celebrate the memory of a great man, to a simple expression: Eroica. 

Eroica is the first great symphony to have captured the romantic imagination and as such, it is considered to be at the threshold of Romanticism in music. It is also one of the major milestones in the development of this trademark Beethoven style.

Ahmed El-Saedi is an Egyptian conductor and composer.  As a conductor, his permanent engagements have included the Wiener Virtuosen Chamber Orchestra (1986-1988), The Egyptian Chamber Orchestra (1989-1995), the Cairo Symphony Orchestra (1991- 2003) and since October 2003, the newly-founded Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra / the Egyptian Philharmonic Society.

The concert will take place on Saturday 1 October at 8 pm at the Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Zamalek.