American Classical Orchestra Opens 40th Anniversary Season With Beethoven Symphony No. 7 & Piano Concerto No. 4

The American Classical Orchestra will mark its 40th anniversary season with an opening performance led by Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Crawford on September 18, the first of three orchestral concerts at Alice Tully Hall. The all-Beethoven program showcases the composer’s Symphony No. 7, as well as the Piano Concerto No. 4—the only classical-era concerto to start with a piano solo—featuring award-winning Hungarian fortepianist Petra Somlai.

Season Opening 40th Anniversary Concert

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 7:30 pm at Alice Tully Hall              

American Classical Orchestra

Thomas Crawford, conductor

Petra Somlai, fortepiano

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

The all-Beethoven season-opening program begins with the Piano Concerto No. 4, which offers a lyrical conversation between piano and orchestra that demonstrates Beethoven’s power of invention. The work premiered in 1808, with the composer at the keyboard in a four-hour program that included the premieres of his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. The work was neglected until nine years later, when it was revived by Felix Mendelssohn in 1836. This performance features the virtuosic Hungarian fortepianist Petra Somlai, professor at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and first prize-winner at the International Fortepiano Competition in Bruges, Belgium. The evening concludes with Symphony No. 7, which premiered with Beethoven conducting at the University of Vienna in 1813 as part of a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau. The work was so enthusiastically received that the audience demanded an encore of its second movement, the “Allegretto.” The movement’s enduring appeal is demonstrated by its frequent inclusion as a stand-alone work on many modern programs. Beethoven himself spoke of it fondly as “one of my best works.”

Tickets, priced at $75, $55, and $35, are available at aconyc.org or by calling ACO at (212) 362-2727, ext.4; at lincolncenter.org or the Alice Tully Hall box office; or by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500.

The next performance will be an intimate salon concert focusing on Schubert’s popular Piano Quintet (The Trout) at the University Club of New York on October 30. 

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