Boston Baroque Opens 23-24 Season with All-Beethoven Program

Boston Baroque opens its season with a return to Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 9 alongside his “Coriolan” Overture and “Elegiac Song.” Performances will take place on Friday, October 13 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Saturday, October 14 at 8pm at GBH’s Calderwood Studio in Brighton, and Sunday, October 15 at 3pm at NEC’s Jordan Hall in Boston. The Saturday evening performance will also be livestreamed on the global streaming platform IDAGIO, welcoming virtual audiences around the world alongside live studio audiences on site.

“When we first performed Beethoven's Ninth, it was one of the major milestones that showed how far period-instrument performance in America had come,” says Founding Music Director Martin Pearlman. “It's wonderful to return to this colossal work now to launch Boston Baroque's second half-century.”

Boston Baroque, North America’s first permanent baroque orchestra, will perform the beloved symphony on period instruments. Last heard on the Boston Baroque stage in 2013—only one other time in its 50-year history—Beethoven’s final symphony is rarely performed on period instruments in modern times. These performances give audiences the unique opportunity to hear Beethoven’s music as it was performed in his lifetime.

Four Metropolitan opera stars will grace the Boston Baroque stage as soloists, including soprano Heidi Stober, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, tenor William Burden, and bass Eric Owens in his company debut. Boston Baroque’s renowned chorus and orchestra will bring the program to life under the baton of Founding Music Director Martin Pearlman.

Best known for its l “Ode to Joy” movement, Beethoven’s final symphony was written years after his first eight and in the final years of his life. Since its premiere in 1824, with Beethoven conducting even as he had become fully deaf at that point, the work has been applauded for its unprecedented nature. From the first movement that places the listener into an imperceptible stream of sound, to the final movement’s first inclusion of the human voice and a dramatic narrative in a symphony, the Symphony No. 9 has become one of the most iconic musical works in the Western repertoire.

The program will begin with two other works by Beethoven—the “Coriolan” Overture and “Elegiac Song.” Inspired by Heinrich von Collin’s play Coriolan—which in turn was based on one of Shakespeare’s less frequently performed tragedies, Coriolanus—the all-orchestral “Coriolan” overture was performed at the palace of Beethoven’s patron Prince Lobkowicz in 1807 before a production of von Collin’s play. The music takes the listener on the tragic journey of the Roman General Coriolanus, who rebelled against Rome and was ultimately killed.

Beethoven’s “Elegiac Song” is also a rarely-heard gem from an interesting period of Beethoven’s life. Composed in-between what is known as Beethoven’s “heroic” period but before his final years, the work reflects Beethoven’s sense of searching for a new musical language. Performed with chorus and orchestra, this solemn song hints at the more abstract, introspective style of his later years.

Audiences near and far will have the opportunity to enjoy this musical rarity as we welcome virtual audiences around the world via livestream on IDAGIO Concerts at Saturday’s 8pm performance. Livestream director Matthew Principe will take the helm again, in partnership with GBH’s Production Group, bringing a sumptuous concert experience online with the carefully crafted camera angles and dynamic lighting. Through the streaming partnership with IDAGIO, Boston Baroque performances have been streamed on 6 continents across 55 countries.

Both in-person and livestream tickets are available for purchase online at baroque.boston or by calling the Box Office at (617) 987-8600. Livestream tickets begin at $9, and in-person tickets range from $25-$125. The virtual performance will become available to stream on-demand 30 days after the live air date, with on-demand rentals beginning at $9.

To post a comment, you must register and login.