New Charlotte Symphony season celebrates Beethoven’s 250th, jazz, soul and movies
Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday falls in December 2020, a boon to orchestras across the globe: They have packed the season leading up to that event with music by the easily marketable master and can do the same with the season leading away from it. The Charlotte Symphony programmed six pieces by the birthday boy in 2019-2020 and will play another eight by him — and even one about him — in 2020-21.
But look beyond the Ludwigfest, and you’ll discover rewarding surprises: A piece by Ernest Chausson you might not expect the CSO to play, short works by Philip Glass and Vivian Fung, weightier stuff by Jennifer Higdon and Arnold Schoenberg, symphonies by Shostakovich and Mahler. It’s as if music director Christopher Warren-Green wanted to remind Charlotte’s notoriously timid audiences that, in his day, Beethoven challenged and sometimes perplexed concertgoers, too.
Ticket packages go on sale Feb. 16 at 704-972-2000 and charlottesymphony.org. The classical series ranges from $342 to $777 for 12 concerts, $284 to $654 for eight, and $222 to $495 for six. Warren-Green will conduct all classical concerts except as noted, and they’ll take place in Belk Theater (BT) and Knight Theater (KT). Here’s a preview of what you’ll be buying:
CLASSICAL SERIES
Oct. 9-11 (KT): Beethoven’s Overture to “Egmont” and Violin Concerto (Pamela Frank, soloist), and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9. Point of interest: Shostakovich followed his tragic-heroic Seventh and Eighth with a lighter, more buoyant symphony just after World War II ended — and took a beating from state-approved critics, who complained of “ideological weakness” and a failure to reflect the true spirit of the Soviet people.
Nov. 6-7 (KT): Mendelssohn’s Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto (Alex Wilborn, soloist) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Point of interest: Two years ago, Wilborn was playing in the orchestra of the Juilliard School. Now, as the CSO’s principal trumpet, he’ll solo in one of the merriest pieces in his instrument’s repertoire.
Nov. 20-21 (KT): Guest conductor Kwamé Ryan leads Brahms’ Tragic Overture, Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Wei Luo, soloist). Point of interest: Ryan was born in Canada, raised in Trinidad, educated in England and now conducts worldwide as a freelancer, while running the recently founded Academy for the Performing Arts at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Dec. 4-6 (KT): Handel’s “Messiah,” with guest conductor Ian Watson leading the Charlotte Master Chorale. Point of interest: Watson’s day job is associate conductor and keyboard player for the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston.
Jan. 15-17 (KT): Guest conductor David Danzmayr leads Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Elegía Andina,” Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 (Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, soloist) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Point of interest: The CSO did Frank’s “Three Latin American Dances” in 2017. This child of a Jewish Lithuanian dad and a Peruvian-Chinese mom has said, “I think the music can be seen as a by-product of my always trying to figure out how Latina I am and how gringa I am.”
Jan. 29-30 (BT): Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and Symphony No. 3. Point of interest: The Eroica Symphony may be the draw, but the novelty will be the only significant concerto ever written for violin, cello and piano. Violinist Paul Huang, cellist Julie Albers and pianist Stewart Goodyear will play this strange hybrid.
Feb. 12-13 (BT): Guest conductor Karen Kamensek will lead Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Joyce Yang, soloist). Point of interest: Though Higdon taught herself to play flute at the age of 15, began formal musical studies at 18 and didn’t start writing music until she was 21, she has won a Pulitzer and two Grammy Awards.
Feb. 26-27 (BT): Guest conductor Peter Oundjian leads Vivian Fung’s “Dust Devils,” Grieg’s Piano Concerto (Drew Petersen, soloist) and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique.” Point of interest: The Canadian-born, San Jose-based Fung wrote her piece for large orchestra to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro in 2011.
March 12-13 (BT): Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. Point of interest: In a 2016 BBC Music Magazine survey of 151 conductors, this was voted the fourth greatest symphony of all time. (The CSO will also play the top two vote-getters, Beethoven’s Third and Ninth Symphonies, in the coming season. Mozart took the third spot on this list for his No. 41, the “Jupiter.”)
March 26-27 (KT): Arnold Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht,” Ernest Chausson’s “Poème” (Rosemary Warren-Green, soloist), and Cesar Franck’s Symphony in D Minor. Point of interest: This will be the first time the husband-and-wife team will perform together with the Charlotte Symphony, though she has played for years in his London Chamber Orchestra.
April 23-24 (BT): The CSO and Charlotte Ballet will do a joint program, with musicians playing live for the entire “Spring Works 50” concert. The orchestra will play Philip Glass’ “Company” and Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” while five of its musicians will step out for Dvorak’s Piano Quintet No. 2. Point of interest: All of it, but especially Glass’ propulsive score, which Warren-Green successfully recorded years ago with the LCO.
May 14-16 (BT): Gerald Barry’s “Beethoven” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Point of interest: Barry uses Beethoven’s only surviving love letter as the text for what his publisher calls a “richly scored, vivid and dramatic work for bass voice and ensemble.”
POPS SERIES
These all take place in Knight Theater.
Oct. 16-17: “Big Band Sing,” with Carl Topilow leading a tribute to jazz groups of the 1930s and ’40s.
Nov. 13-14: “Disco Fever,” featuring the tribute band Motor Booty Affair.
Dec. 11-20: “Magic of Christmas,” featuring vocalist Tony DeSare.
Jan. 22-23: “Spaced Out: Sci-Fi Movie Music,” offering selections from “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” etc.
Feb. 19-20: “Queens of Soul,” a six-decade tribute to Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and more.
May 7-8: “Broadway’s Longest: ‘Phantom,’ ‘Chicago,’ ‘Cats’ & More.”
SPECIAL EVENTS
These take place at Belk Theater.
Dec. 29: “Cirque De Noël,” with acrobatic acts and holiday music.
Dec. 31: “New Year’s Eve with Melinda Doolittle,” with vocals by the “American Idol” finalist and a post-concert party offering champagne and dancing.
June 18: “Hotel California: A Salute to the Eagles.”
MOVIE SERIES
All films are screened in Belk Theater.
Nov. 27-28: “The Polar Express.”
Feb. 5-6: “Beauty and the Beast.”
March 19-20: “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.”
June 25-26: “Jurassic Park.”
FAMILY SERIES
These all happen in Knight Theater.
Dec. 12: A version of “Magic of Christmas” aimed specifically at kids.
Feb. 20: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: A Children’s Suite for Orchestra.”
May 8: “Green Eggs and Ham,” a staged orchestral adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s book.
This story is part of an Observer underwriting project with the Thrive Campaign for the Arts, supporting arts journalism in Charlotte.
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This story was originally published February 16, 2020 at 6:00 AM.