Kanye and Beethoven Together at Last for "Yeethoven" Orchestral Concert

On April 16, a 70-piece orchestra will (finally) bring the music of Kanye West and Ludwig van Beethoven together. Co-curated by conductor Yuga Cohler and arranger Stephen Feigenbaum, “Yeethoven” is a concert from the Great Music Series (hosted by the Young Musicians Foundation) that will compare and “splice together” six Beethoven works and six Yeezus tracks. The Beethoven pieces include the Egmont Overture, Symphony No. 5 (op. 67), and String Quartet No. 14 (op. 131). “Yeethoven” will aim to show how contemporary popular music and classical music are fundamentally similar. In a promo video, a voiceover says, West and Beethoven’s “willingness to ruthlessly upend tradition and their influence on the larger culture can’t be overstated.” Also in the video, the 70-piece orchestra play West’s “Blood on the Leaves” and Beethoven’s Fifth. Watch it below.

“Yeethoven” takes place at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles. Admission is free; tickets are not required.

Read our feature “The Yeezus Sessions,” about West’s collaborators on the 2013 album.

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