Paired with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and his Leonore Overture No. 3, the program is a continuation of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's "Year of the Composer," in which the works of 11 contemporary composers are featured alongside all nine Beethoven symphonies.
Prior to these concerts, Christopher Rouse will participate in Composers in Conversation, hosted by Marin Alsop, on Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Theatre Project. In addition, as part of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's partnership with XM Satellite Radio, this concert will be broadcast nationally on XM Classics 110 on Friday, April 4 at 9:00 p.m. with an encore performance on Sunday, April 6 at 3:00 p.m.
In part a nod to his Celtic heritage, Christopher Rouse's Flute Concerto has been hailed as "a certifiable hit" (The Detroit Free Press) and "possibly the most expressive music Rouse has written" (Fanfare). Completed in 1993, the five-movement work conjures Irish folk music, from slow, reflective movements to spirited jigs. The third movement, "Elegia," stands as a mournful tribute to James Bulger, the young British boy brutally murdered in a London subway by a pair of 10 year old boys in February 1993.
Rouse writes that "in a world of daily horrors too numerous and enormous to comprehend en masse, it seems that only isolated, individual tragedies serve to sensitize us to the potential harm man can do to his fellow. The central movement…is a small token of remembrance for a life senselessly and cruelly snuffed out."
Among the most recognizable and beloved works in the classical canon, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 resonates with power and conviction from its ominous four?note opening through to the majestic swells of the final movement. Of the iconic four?note motif, Beethoven offered this portrayal: "Thus Fate knocks at the door," a description that has stayed with the work for 200 years and earned it the sobriquet "Fate." The joyous final movement utilizes the full orchestra as impending doom is replaced with courage and ultimately triumph. The work's dramatic, heroic struggle from darkness to light has influenced dozens of composers, from Tchaikovsky to Bruckner.
The program opens with Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, from the composer's only opera, Fidelio. Beethoven labored over Fidelio, composing four complete and separate overtures as the opera underwent substantial revisions following its 1805 premiere. Considered near perfect in form, Leonore Overture No. 3 reflects the dramatic arch of the opera, from the main character Florestan's imprisonment to his eventual release. Though occasionally performed as an entr'acte to Fidelio, today Leonore Overture No. 3 is most often performed as a standalone symphonic tone poem. -- www.baltimoresymphony.org
