At the musical border where “poised control and chaotic excitement” meet, you’ll find the San Juan Symphony this weekend.
Those are Conductor Thomas Heuser’s words describing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major.
“The Seventh Symphony is one of the most striking in the repertoire,” Heuser said. “I’m struck by the fact that more than 200 years after its premiere, the Seventh still sounds fresh and vibrant. The work is a tour-de-force for our orchestra musicians, and we have been looking forward to this music all season long.”
Beethoven composed the symphony in 1813 and conducted its premiere in a Viennese charity concert for wounded soldiers. It was hugely successful, due in part to its joyous, dance-like rhythms and overall mood of celebration. The contrasting second movement, the now famous, stand-alone funeral march, is propelled by a slow-and-steady ground bass, familiar to us all. But even that dark movement, culminates in a beautiful, emotionally powerful conclusion, Heuser said.
“The third movement is a thrilling Scherzo ... the dance-like qualities are prominent,” he said. “The fourth and final movement arrives unexpectedly and proceeds to churn and burn with incredible energy ... the energy and enthusiasm of the composer reaches a fever pitch, and at times it feels as though the orchestra might spontaneously combust!”
If you go
WHAT: ‘Visionary Beethoven,” San Juan Symphony, Music Director Thomas Heuser, works by Beethoven and Prokofiev.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College and Henderson Performance Hall, Farmington.
TICKETS: Durango single tickets range from $20 students to $63 adults. For information, call 247-7567 or visit www.durangoconcerts.com or www.sanjuansymphony.org or call 382-9753.
And, that’s where Heuser added his geographical metaphor of a boundary where “poised control and chaotic excitement meet.”
To begin the concert trek toward Beethoven’s Seventh, the orchestra will begin with Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor. Heuser refers to it as “shockingly beautiful.”
Composed in 1935, the work premiered in Madrid when the Russian composer was on a world tour “attempting to restart his career in the oppressive Soviet Union,” Heuser said.
“The gestation of the Second Concerto clearly reflects a Spanish influence, especially in the third and final movements, with its clacking of castanets and dance-like polyrhythms,” he said. “The effect is mesmerizing with the stark contrasts of both brooding and sublime moods.”
Originally, violinist Arnaud Sussmann was scheduled to make his debut with the Symphony performing the Prokofiev concerto. Sussmann had to cancel because of illness, Heuser said.
“We are fortunate that our friend Tim Fain is available and ready to perform – on a week’s notice,” he said.
Fain has played with the orchestra several times before, so he is known to both the musicians and the audience.
“We can expect Tim to deliver his trademark virtuosic flare, combined with an easy-going, nonchalant approach to the performance that puts the audience at ease,” Heuser said.
Music Director Thomas Heuser will continue his popular, 30-minute pre-concert talks one-hour before downbeat in the venue where the orchestra will be performing. In Durango, the talks will be given in the Plaza seating section of the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Farmington’s Henderson Center has a different plan. The talks are free for ticket holders.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
