Overture Magazine - 2014-2015 November-December 2014 | Page 27

These days, smart seniors

Symphony No. 7 in A Major

are going back to class.
At Roland Park Place.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Born in Bonn, Germany, December 16, 1770;
died in Vienna, Austria, March 26, 1827

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is one
of the most extraordinary expressions of
physical energy and joy in symphonic music. Completed in 1812, the Seventh, in
the words of Beethoven biographer Maynard Solomon, “transports us into a sphere
of laughter, play, and the exuberant release
of bound energy.” This is a work without
a shadow or a solemn thought or even a
true slow movement. In any other hands,
such unrelieved happiness might produce
a feeling of triviality or monotony, but
Beethoven instead shows us the dynamic
variety of joy.
In an off-quoted aphorism, Wagner
has called the Seventh “the apotheosis of
the dance,” but it could more accurately
be characterized as “the apotheosis of
rhythm.” Throughout Beethoven’s music,
themes are as much characterized by
their rhythmic patterns as by their melodic shapes or harmonic coloring. Here
rhythm is the primary building block: the
first, second, and fourth movements are
all generated by one obsessive rhythmic
figure announced at the opening; the
scherzo has two such figures.

In the Seventh,
Beethoven shows us
the dynamic
variety of joy.

Roland Park Place offers something
you won’t likely find in other
communities. Life here is like going
back to class. Many residents are
former university professors,
educators, business leaders,
entrepreneurs and artists. So there
are always stimulating activities,
and the enriching company of
like-minded individuals.
Why not learn more right now?
Call [phone] or visit
RolandParkPlace.org
830 W. 40th St. Baltimore, MD 21211
[phone] rolandparkplace.org

The educated choice.

Ballet

theatre

of

maryland

MARYLAND’S
PREMIER
PROFESSIONAL
BALLET
COMPANY

The Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric and Ballet Theatre of Maryland
are proud to present a new ballet collaboration.

CINDERELLA

The Seventh was introduced to the
world at a spectacular celebrity-studded
concert on December 8, 1813 at the University of Vienna that was the most successful of Beethoven’s career. Organized
by Beethoven’s friend Johann Nepomuk
Maelzel, the inventor of the metronome,
it was a benefit concert to raise money for
soldiers wounded at the recent Napoleonic battle of Hanau. Both performers
and audience were in high spirits for by

PHOTO © NICK ECKERT

MARCH 28, 2015
7:00PM

For tickets call 410-547-SEAT,
purchase online at ticketmaster.com,
or visit the box office
(M-F 10am-4pm) 410.900.1150.
Groups SAVE!! (15+).
Call Karen at 410.900.1165.

THE MODELL LYRIC • 140 WEST MOUNT ROYAL AVE.

November–DEcember 2014 |

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