The Beethoven 250 Celebration Year Begins for KSO and UT School of Music

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, probably a day or so earlier than his recorded baptismal date of December 17, 1770. The composer’s subsequent life and work of 57 years shaped western music in ways that are incalculable. He defined the ideal of the symphony for generations of composers with his nine, but also moved prolifically through the world of Viennese chamber music. He was not yet 30 years of age when his Symphony No. 1 was first performed in 1800, but he had already gifted the world with six string quartets, ten piano sonatas, five string trios, his opus 5 cello sonatas, and his opus 12 violin sonatas.

Of course, this year, 2020, is the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. World music has already begun a performance celebration of his music, offering listeners the chance to hear not only the major works—on multiple occasions—but also lesser known, if not rarely performed items from the extensive Beethoven catalogue. In Knoxville, both the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the University of Tennessee School of Music have already leapt onto the celebration bandwagon with ebullient enthusiasm. In the past year and a half, we’ve heard Symphonies No. 7 and No. 9 from the KSO. The UT Symphony Orchestra has performed No. 5 and No. 7 as well as the Piano Concerto No. 5—the “Emperor” concerto—with faculty pianist Chih-Long Hu. The UTSOM has also hosted faculty and guest artist recitals of the complete Violin Sonatas as well as a number of Beethoven’s other chamber music works including the rarely performed sextet for two Horns and string quartet—the Sextet in E-flat, op 81b .

Needless to say, the emphasis on Beethoven continues this month and next. The KSO’s Concertmaster Series—“William Shaub and Friends”—references two works on its concerts on Jan 22-23 at the Knoxville Museum of Art: the Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor and the Piano Trio, Op. 70 No. 1 in D Major (“Ghost”), along with tie-ins to works by Mason Bates and Haydn.

The KSO’s Chamber Classics Series concert on Sunday, January 26, is an all Beethoven mix of chamber music and orchestra: his String Quartet Opus 18, No. 6; the Romance No. 1 and No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra (violinists Zofia Glashauser and Ruth Bacon); and finishing with Beethoven’s marvelous Symphony No. 1 that is an inspirational bridge between the Classical and Romantic periods. KSO maestro Aram Demirjian has chosen the Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”) for the February Masterworks concerts.

The UT School of Music joins the fray with a major performance of Beethoven’s Ninth featuring the UT Symphony and the UT Choral forces on Sunday, February 23, at the Tennessee Theatre.  Also in February, the faculty ensemble, the Edison Piano Trio, is offering a two-recital series of the complete Piano Trios.