Overture Magazine: 2016-2017 Season September - October 2016

Modern Day Beethoven Marin Alsop’s first season with the BSO celebrated Beethoven by pairing his work with contemporary composers: Thomas Adès Violin Concerto, Concentric Paths, op. 24 “ If you look at one of his sketches, it’s like seeing him holding the pen in his fist; he scribbles out things that he hates. You can see the process, what he went through to compose. ” — Christopher Costanza Cellist, St. Lawrence String Quartet Symphony 2 James MacMillan Stomp (with Fate and Elvira) and Piano Concerto No. 2 Symphony 3 John Corigliano To Music Symphony 5 B ee th oven , Ludwi g Van . [Pian o So nata i n A Ma j o r , o p. 1 0 1 , Allegro]. N o n e. N otated M usi c . R e tr i e ved fro m th e Li b r ary o f Co n gr e ss , ht tp s :// www. lo c .g ov/item/m o ld en .0 5 0 8/. (Acce ssed J u ly 2 0, 2 0 1 6 .) Christopher Rouse Flute Concerto life and his creative approach. “If you look at one of his sketches, it’s like seeing him holding the pen in his fist; he scribbles out things that he hates. You can see the process, what he went through to compose,” says Costanza. In his time, Beethoven was an innovator, often drawing criticism for his radical turns. After the onset of deafness made it impossible to continue his early success as a pianist, he focused increasingly on composing. “When he started going in new directions,” says Mark Ferraguto, an assistant professor of musicology at Penn State University, “he often struggled to connect with listeners. The critics kept wanting more pieces like his Septet and his First Symphony, but he was restless and wanted to explore new territory.” Ferraguto (who is the brother of the BSO Principal Librarian Michael Ferraguto) says that some of Beethoven’s greatest works took some time to catch on. The late string quartets and sonatas were initially “dismissed as the products of a deaf composer who had lost his way, perhaps even of a madman,” he points (Above) Beethoven’s manuscripts from his Piano Sonata in A Major, op. 101, Allegro Symphony 6 Aaron Jay Kernis Newly Drawn Sky and Lament and Prayer SUBSCRIPTION SERIES Symphony 7 ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS CHAMBER ENSEMBLE Sun, Oct 23, 5:30PM Symphony 8 SOL GABETTA, CELLO BERTRAND CHAMAYOU, PIANO Sun, Nov 6, 5:30PM John Adams My Father Knew Charles Ives JOIN US! HK Gruber Frankenstein!! FALL CONCERTS HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD, PIANO Symphony 9 Sun, Dec 4, 5:30PM SUNDAYS @ 5:30 PM Joan Tower Concerto for Orchestra out. “Now they are studied and part of the standard repertoire worldwide.” Likewise, while the odd-numbered symphonies are the most popular for their drama and intensity, Ferraguto appreciates the nuance of the even-numbered pieces. He’s working on a book about Beethoven’s instrumental music of 1806 –1807, including his Fourth Symphony, which was initially dismissed by critics like the younger Carl Maria von Weber as “ridiculous, with its wandering viola passages and chromaticism,” Ferraguto says. “What’s compelling about the Fourth is just how radically different it is from the ‘Eroica,’” Beethoven’s Third, notes the scholar. “It’s almost as if Beethoven wanted to do a 180 to show that he was capable of something totally novel.” Ferraguto says the piece, which the BSO will perform March 10 –12 with guest conductor Paul Goodwin, is filled with “gorgeous and strange passages.” On the occasion of Beethoven's funeral, says Ferraguto, “one poet wrote that Beethoven ‘dominates and reconciles what is strange and incompatible.’ Here was a composer who strongly inhabited the style of Haydn and Mozart yet also pointed the way forward for the Romantics.” OPENING NIGHT INON BARNATAN, PIANO YEFIM BRONFMAN, ANTHONY MCGILL, PIANO CLARINET September 20 ALISA WEILERSTEIN, CELLO Sun, Jan 22, 5:30PM MONTROSE TRIO October 25 VENICE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA ANDREA MARCON, TAKÁCS QUARTET CONDUCTOR November 15 NICOLA BENEDETTI, VIOLIN Sun, Feb 12, 5:30PM MISCHA MAISKY, CELLO LILY MAISKY, PIANO JONATHAN BISS, PIANO December 6 BRENTANO STRING QUARTET Sun, Feb 26, 5:30PM DISCOVERY SERIES SPECIAL EVENT SATURDAYS @ 3 PM ST. LAWRENCE STRING FREE! GEN. ADMISSION QUARTET BEHZOD Sun, NovABDURAIMOV, 20, 5:30PM PIANO Co-presented with the 2016-17 SEASON Symphonies 1 + 4 October 3 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Carver Center for Arts and TechnologySERIES DISCOVERY FREE! ROMAN RABINOVICH Sat, Sep 24, 3PM GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY! 8-Concert Subscription: $249 Single Tickets: $42 Student Tickets: $10 restrictions apply SHRIVERCONCERTS.ORG 410.516.7164 September–November 2016 | O v ertur e 9

Overture Magazine: 2016-2017 Season September - October 2016 | Page 11