Symphony Napa Valley Presents BEETHOVEN EXTRAVAGANZA At Lincoln Theater

Over 200 musicians return to the Lincoln Theater stage for a rare performance of Beethoven's two most unusual and innovative works, the famed Triple Concerto and Choral Fantasy. Maestro Michael Guttman and Symphony Napa Valley will be joined by cellist Jing Zhao, pianist Nikolay Khozyainov, and the combined voices of Sing Napa Valley, St. Helena Chamber Singers, and Napa Valley College Chorale under the direction of Ragnar Bohlin. Symphony lovers who attended the Brahms Requiem last season will not want to miss this exciting performance on Saturday, April 14th at the Lincoln Theater.

To this day, the Triple Concerto is seen as a rare breed - a fascinating symphonic framework appealing in its melodic material and the intricate interactions of the soloists and orchestra. The work remains a favorite vehicle of the great Beethoven specialists, with numerous recordings by legendary performers. The gripping Choral Fantasy is also a rarity, uniting the virtuoso display of a semi-improvisational solo piano with the vocal and instrumental richness of chorus and orchestra. There is a sense of impromptu in the Fantasy's long piano solo, which Beethoven wrote for himself and partly improvised at its first performance, and the choral melody sounds like a sketch for the last movement of Beethoven's beloved Ninth Symphony.

The program for this concert will open with the mystical and hauntingly beautiful Salve Regina by Arvo Pärt. The full repertoire of the performance poses unusual challenges, and it would be difficult to imagine a more intriguing blend of musicians and vocalists to pull it off.

The leading Chinese cellist of her generation, Jing Zhao won first prize at the prestigious ARD international competition in 2005 and went on to receive the 2009 Exxon Mobil Music award. She studied with Yo-Yo Ma and Mstislav Rostropovich, and Seiji Ozawa chose her as soloist, together with violinist Vadim Repin, pianist Lang Lang, and Singer Kathleen Battle, for the opening New Year's concert of the China Grand Theatre in Beijing.

Pianist Khozyainov dazzled Napa music lovers last season in Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. His musicality and formidable technique have thrilled audiences around the world and his engagements have included sold out performances at Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center in Washington, and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow.

Ragnar Bohlin is Director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. The Symphony and Chorus, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, won three Grammy awards in 2010. That same year, the energetic Bohlin conducted at Davies Symphony Hall and made his Carnegie Hall debut.

Vocalists from Sing Napa Valley, St. Helena Chamber Singers, and Napa Valley College Chorale will join Symphony Napa Valley in this tour de force performance. The talent assembled by Guttman for this production, and the sheer number of artists on the stage, will make this concert one of the most impressive yet offered by Symphony Napa Valley.

Beethoven's Extravaganza will take place at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville on Saturday, April 14th at 5 pm. Tickets are $49, and children's tickets are free. To reserve your seats contact the box office at 707-944-9900 or go to www.Lincolntheater.org.