Beethoven’s Fifth Takes Center Stage at the Hollywood Bowl with Anna Handler and the LA Phil

The Hollywood Bowl was filled with the unmistakable sound of Beethoven on Tuesday, August 25, as the Los Angeles Philharmonic welcomed rising conductor Anna Handler for an evening devoted to one of classical music’s most recognizable composers.

The performance, “Beethoven’s Fifth with Anna Handler,” brought Beethoven’s dramatic and powerful music to one of Los Angeles’ most iconic outdoor venues, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the composer’s legendary Symphony No. 5 under the baton of one of classical music’s rapidly emerging conductors.

For Anna Handler, the Hollywood Bowl performance represented another significant chapter in an increasingly impressive relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Handler previously served as a Dudamel Fellow with the LA Phil and made her Hollywood Bowl conducting debut in July 2025. In 2026, she began a three-year appointment as the orchestra’s Conductor-in-Residence, further establishing her connection with one of the world's most prominent orchestras.

The concert featured more than the iconic Fifth Symphony. The program included Grace-Evangeline Mason’s Ablaze the Moon, followed by Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano, commonly known as the Triple Concerto. Handler conducted the LA Phil with soloists Bing Wang on violin, Robert deMaine on cello and Joanne Pearce Martin on piano.

The Triple Concerto provided an opportunity to hear three solo instruments interact with the full orchestra, showcasing another side of Beethoven before the evening turned toward his most famous symphonic work.

Few pieces in classical music have an opening as instantly recognizable as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Those famous opening notes have become part of popular culture, but hearing the complete symphony performed live offers a very different experience. At the Hollywood Bowl, Beethoven’s musical drama unfolded beneath the Los Angeles night sky, combining the intensity of the orchestra with the atmosphere of an outdoor concert at one of Southern California’s most beloved venues.

The Fifth Symphony remains one of Beethoven’s defining works, moving from its famously urgent opening through moments of tension, contrast and ultimately triumph. Under Handler’s direction, the work provided the evening’s centerpiece and a powerful reminder of why Beethoven’s music continues to resonate more than two centuries after it was written.

There is something uniquely cinematic about experiencing Beethoven at the Hollywood Bowl. The combination of a world-class orchestra, one of the most famous concert venues in Los Angeles and an open-air summer evening creates an experience that extends beyond a traditional concert hall performance.

For classical music fans, Beethoven’s Fifth with Anna Handler and the LA Phil offered both familiarity and discovery: the familiarity of one of Beethoven’s most celebrated compositions and the discovery of a conductor whose career is quickly becoming one to watch. As the final notes of Beethoven’s Fifth filled the Bowl, the evening served as another reminder that some of classical music’s oldest masterpieces can still feel immediate, dramatic and incredibly alive.

Anna Handler’s Beethoven’s Fifth at the Hollywood Bowl was a standout classical music event in the LA Phil’s 2026 summer season. With Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Ablaze the Moon and the monumental Fifth Symphony, the program offered a compelling mixture of contemporary music and timeless classical repertoire. For audiences experiencing Handler with the LA Phil for the first time, it was also an introduction to a conductor whose presence in Los Angeles is only beginning.

Coverage by Veronica Potes // Instagram: @veropoteart

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