(CANTON, OH) October 15, 2014 - This Spring, the Canton Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the music and life of Ludwig Van Beethoven with a two month festival. Throughout March and April 2015 the legendary composer will be the focus throughout Canton with four orchestra concerts in Umstattd Performing Arts Hall, a chamber concert performed by the Canton Symphony String Trio, two ConverZations programs at the Zimmermann Symphony Center and several films showing at the historic Canton Palace Theatre.
The festival centers around four orchestral concerts, on March 28th-29th and April 25th-26th featuring acclaimed pianist André Watts performing all five of Beethoven's piano concerti. Watts, who is in his final year of a three-year residency with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, will also perform Beethoven's Choral Fantasy on the final concert of the festival along with the Canton Symphony Chorus and the University of Mount Union Concert Choir. Throughout the four concert series, the orchestra will perform other works by Beethoven such as Coriolan Overture, Contradances, and Musik zu einem Ritterballet. The finale to the festival will be Symphony No. 9 "Ode to Joy". Tickets for the orchestral concerts range from $25-45 for single tickets, and $80-160 for a Festival subscription.Beethoven mania includes several exciting events at the Zimmermann Symphony Center (aka the "Z"). On March 12th at 1:00pm the Canton Symphony String Trio, as part of the Orchestra's Casual Series held in Foundation Hall of the "Z", will perform chamber works from Beethoven's repertory. The performance will be repeated that same evening at Tapas 218 in downtown Canton at 8 p.m.Videos