This outstanding ensemble and its artistic director Paavo Järvi are squaring up to the challenge that is Beethoven, and performing all nine symphonies in four days at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn. As musicians they are world class, as shareholders in the company that is their orchestra they bear the full risks. Their vision does not end with the final applause: the musicians are also fulfilling a social responsibility and passing on their passion for music to students at a Bremen school.

The four-part documentary series The Beethoven Project focuses on star conductor Paavo Järvi and selected members of the orchestra. They show their enthusiasm for music – in rehearsal, in concert and behind the scenes. How has the former provincial youth orchestra become a world-class ensemble? How did it develop its unique sound? How do the conductor and musicians approach Beethoven’s masterpieces? And how does the orchestra maintain consistency in their performance of the Beethoven symphonies over four days? Answers to these and many other questions in this four-part documentary series.