Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Presents Beethoven Choral Fantasy, 10/20

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera presents Beethoven's Choral Fantasy on Thursday, October 20th, 2016 at 7:30pm in the Tivoli Theatre. This concert will be performed in memory of former CSO Executive Director Molly Sasse French.

Pianist Spencer Myer, Baritone Robert Barefield, the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Chorus directed by Darrin Hassevoort, and the Lee University Chorale directed by William Green will join the CSO for the concert. Other soloists featured include Caitlin Hammon Moore, Lucia Sanchez, Sara Snider Schone, Ron Brendel, and James Harr.

THE MUSIC

The concert opens with Beethoven's Egmont Overture. The Los Angeles Philharmonic calls the piece "powerful [and] strikingly original." Based on the dramatic play by Goethe about Count Egmont and his 16th Century struggle for Dutch freedom from Spain, the piece takes you from tragedy through triumph.

The concert continues with the WORLD PREMIERE of Wie die Blätter des Herbstes herbafallen (As the Autumn Leaves Fall) by Kendra D'Ercole. The piece is based on Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament. As Beethoven's hearing began to diminish, he moved to the Viennese suburb of Heiligenstadt where he wrote this famous outpouring of emotions. The name of the piece is based on the postscript to the Testament: "As the autumn leaves fall and wither," writes Beethoven, "so also has [hope] become dried up for me."

Closing out the concert is Beethoven's Choral Fantasy written for piano, solo voices, chorus and orchestra. Herbert Glass writes, "It is closely related to the "Emperor" Concerto in its combination of heroic grandeur and expansive lyricism, but unique to the Fantasy amid the composer's music for piano and orchestra is its enthusiastic desire to excite the senses: this is show-off music, a virtuoso lark."

THE ARTISTS

Pianist Spencer Myer's career was launched with three important prizes: First Prize in the 2004 UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianist Association and the Gold Medal from the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition. Myer's orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. Lauded for "superb playing and poised, alert musicianship" by the Boston Globe, and labeled "definitely a man to watch' by the London's The Independent, Myer is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today's concert stage.

Baritone Robert Barefield has performed as soloist with organizations throughout the United States and in Europe. Barefield received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he was a Corbett Opera Scholar. He is Associate Professor at the Hartt School in Connecticut, having served on music faculties at Arizona State University, Southern Methodist University and others. He has made presentations at national conferences of leading music organizations and his articles on voice-related topics have appeared in The Journal of Singing, The American Music Teacher, and The Music Educator's Journal. His summer activities have included performing and teaching at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Alaska, Lingua e Canto and Operafestival di Roma in Italy, the Vianden International Music Festival in Luxembourg and the IES Center in Vienna, Austria (in collaboration with Carolyn Hague and Michael Pinkerton). Robert Barefield's current and former voice students are active as performers and educators throughout the country.

CONCERT EXTRAS

Kendra D'Ercole is one of our 5 visiting composers this season. The CSO will host a Composers Lunch where she will give a presentation on her piece and some background on her composition process. Also, there is a pre-concert Spotlight Talk at the Tivoli Center at 6:45pm on concert night. Following the concert, ticket holders are invited to stay in the lobby for Postlude where they can meet the guest artists and musicians and enjoy complimentary sparkling wine.

TICKETS

Tickets range from $21 to $83 with discounts for students and educators and can be purchased by calling the CSO Box Office at 423.267.8583or online at www.chattanoogasymphony.org. Following the concert, ticket-holders are invited to Postlude - a sparkling wine reception held in the lobby with a chance to meet the musicians and guest artists.

About Us

The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera continues to inspire, engage, and enrich the greater Chattanooga community as it enters its 84thseason. In addition to Masterworks, Pops, Chamber, and special event concerts, the CSO will produce their first fully-staged opera in 7 yearswith Puccini's Madame Butterfly. Conducted by Music Director Kayoko Dan, the CSO consists of top players from the Chattanooga area as well as from across the southern region. Well known for its education and engagement events, the musicians of the CSO perform to more than 20,000 students each year throughout the greater Chattanooga Community.

(Picture Credit: Sarah Stewart)

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