Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No.8 straddles the composer’s middle and late periods. Though no match in terms of orchestral scale to his grander works, this symphony captures gentleness, purity and calm, like a clear spring cleansing the human spirit. In fact, this is also the most challenging among Beethoven’s symphonic oeuvre because of the subtleties therein. The composer’s “triple concerto” is unique because contrary to the classical form of pitting one soloist against orchestra, three virtuosos often work together and at times individually, thus increasing the concerto’s structural complexity.