GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., January 24, 2011 – Beethoven lovers will experience an exciting multi-media concert format when the Grand Rapids Symphony presents “Beethoven the Revolutionary” in DeVos Performance Hall on Friday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m.
The concert is a unique opportunity for audiences to explore the music of Beethoven on a deeper level. Designed to educate as well as inspire, the concert will place Beethoven’s music in the context of his time, combining musical performance, commentary and supporting visuals.
Conductor David Lockington will lead the Grand Rapids Symphony in the performances, which will also feature pianist Katherine Chi, one of Canada’s fastest rising stars. Noted Harvard University professor and music historian Thomas Kelly will narrate the program, providing musical insights.
“People often listen with greater depth and clarity when they can place musical works in context,” Lockington said. “By drawing comparisons between Beethoven and some of his contemporaries, it is our hope that concertgoers will take with them a stronger sense of appreciation for his influence on music. Beethoven was a true revolutionary and, among many great composers of his time, his work stood apart from his contemporaries.”
The program’s first half features several “German Dances” by Beethoven. Guest pianist Katherine Chi will join with the orchestra to perform a movement from Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 as well as a selection from a piano concerto by Beethoven’s contemporary, and one-time student, Ferdinand Ries. Beethoven’s “German Dances” are an opportunity for today’s listeners to hear the popular music of the 1800s – and to realize that, although melodious and evocative in their own right, not necessarily everything the great composer wrote was profound.
The eldest son of Beethoven’s teacher Franz Ries, Ferdinand Ries was a piano student of Beethoven. Acclaimed as one of the most celebrated pianists of his day, he was also an active composer having written at least eight symphonies, nine concertos, two oratorios and a host of solo and chamber works. His Piano Concerto in C-Sharp Minor, has been described as “a striking work full of spirit and boundless invention.”
When Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) was first played in 1810, Vienna was under siege by Napoleon’s armies, and audiences expected music with a certain martial character. They got their wishes. The Symphony will perform the third movement, “Rondo: Allegro,” which has been called “the most spacious and triumphant of concerto rondos.”
The program’s second half will feature Beethoven’s revolutionary moment, his Symphony No. 3 also known as the “Eroica Symphony.” The early 1800s marked an important change in Beethoven’s style: away from the classicism of his youth and toward something quite new and remarkable. The signature piece of that change was his Third Symphony, written from 1802-04. It has been described as a musical picture, a “heroic symphony . . . composed to celebrate the memory of a great man (Napoleon Bonaparte).”
Noted for the breadth of her repertoire, guest pianist Katherine Chi has been acclaimed for performances of major romantic and 20th century concertos. She has performed in Lincoln Center and also with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Mexico City Philharmonic and the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra, among others. She is the first woman to win Canada’s Honens International Piano Competition.
Thomas Kelly is currently a Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at Harvard University. Kelly holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard. He spent two years in France with the Fulbright Scholarship Program studying musicology, chant and organ. His teaching credentials include Wellesley College, Smith College, Amherst College and Oberlin College, where he directed the Historical Performance Program and served as acting dean of the conservatory.
Tickets
Tickets start at $18 and are available at the Symphony office, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 300 Ottawa NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder), or by calling 616/454-9451, Ext. 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.) Tickets are available at the DeVos Place Box Office, weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or on the day of the concert two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster, 800/982-2787, online at www.grsymphony.org, or in person at Ticketmaster outlets: select D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare Stores and Walmart. Tickets purchased at these locations will include a Ticketmaster service fee.
About the Grand Rapids Symphony
The Grand Rapids Symphony was officially organized in 1930 and is recognized as one of America’s leading regional orchestras. Led by Music Director David Lockington, eight concert series are presented, featuring a wide range of music and performance styles. More than 400 performances are presented each year, touching the lives of some 170,000. Nearly half of those who benefit are students, senior citizens and people with disabilities reached through extensive education and community service programs. The Symphony sponsors the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, Grand Rapids Youth Symphony and Classical Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Choruses, and also provides the orchestra for Opera Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. To learn more about the Grand Rapids Symphony, please visit www.grsymphony.org.
These concerts are made possible with support from the Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.