CCM Celebrates the Music of Ludwig van Beethoven

CCM’s Concert Orchestra.

The CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestras open their seasons with a festival celebrating the legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven. Running from Sept. 14 through Oct. 12, the Beethoven Festival showcases the talents of CCM students and faculty in a concert series featuring a variety of the composer’s works, including six of his nine symphonies, two overtures, two concertos and a variety of chamber music.

Led by music director and conductor Mark Gibson, the CCM Philharmonia Orchestra presents the “Beethoven Festival Opening Concert” on Sept. 14. The concert features a selection of three of Beethoven’s orchestral works from his “middle period,” including the Overture to Fidelio and the lush Symphony No. 7 in A Major. CCM Piano Competition winner Julan Wang, a doctoral student in the studio of Awadagin Pratt, will perform Beethoven’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor).

Beethoven was well known for his chamber music, having written 16 string quartets and a wide variety works for combinations of strings, piano and winds. On Sunday, Sept. 16, audiences get the opportunity to experience these more intimate works of Beethoven on a special afternoon concert featuring faculty and local artists.

A sampling of the wealth of solo and chamber music by Beethoven will be performed as part of the CCM Atrium Series. These free concerts offer audiences a musical lunch break at 12:20 p.m. on Tuesdays beginning Sept. 18 and running through Oct. 9 in the Atrium of the Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

The Orchestra Series will continue the Beethoven Festival with the Concert Orchestra presenting the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, the Violin Concerto in D Major performed by Yang Liu, a graduate student from Wuhan, China and Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major on Friday, Sept. 21. On Friday, Oct. 5, the Philharmonia Orchestra will perform a symphony double-bill with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major and the famous and recognizable Symphony No. 5 in C Minor.

On Friday, Oct. 12, audiences may remember images of centaurs, fauns, cherubs and other mythological figures when the Concert Orchestra closes the festival Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), which was featured in Disney’s Fantasia. Also on the program is his very first full symphony, Symphony No. 1 in C Major.

Young and aspiring conductors can get the chance to learn the skills and nuances to conducting Beethoven at the Conducting Beethoven Workshop. Instructors include masters of conducting pedagogy from the United States and abroad. Major teachers include Mark Gibson, director of Orchestral Studies at CCM; Gustav Meier, director of graduate conducting at the Peabody Institute of Music; and Neil Varon, professor of conducting and ensembles at the Eastman School of Music. Internationally renowned conductor and pianist Leon Fleisher joins as special guest faculty. This year the program has received a record number of applications from students from all across the United States and the globe. Learn more about the workshop by visiting ccm.uc.edu/music/orchestra/conducting_workshop.

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to each Philharmonia and Concert Orchestra concert are $12 for general admission, $6 for non-UC students and free for UC students with valid ID. These concerts can be included in a flex ticket package. See the individual concert listings below for additional information.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice.

Applications for the conducting workshop Oct. 5-7 are now open. For workshop application information, visit ccm.uc.edu/music/orchestra/conducting_workshop.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Beethoven Festival – Full Schedule

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14
Philharmonia Orchestra
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
Julan Wang, piano
“Beethoven Festival Opening Concert”

• Overture to Fidelio, Op. 72b
• Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
• Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $12 general admission, $6 non-UC students, UC students FREE. This concert can be included in a flex ticket package.
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4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16
Mark Gibson, piano
Joseph Bucci, oboe
Adam Butalewicz, clarinet
Randy Denler, bassoon
Corey Tarbell, horn
Yabing Tan, violin
Nathaniel Chaikin, cello
“Beethoven Festival”
Featuring the chamber music of Beethoven, including:

• Quintet in E-Flat Major for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn and Piano, Op. 16
• Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, (Spring)
• Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69

Location: Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21
Concert Orchestra
Annunziata Tomaro, music director
Yang Liu, violin
Mark Gibson, conductor
“Beethoven Festival”

• Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43
• Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 (with Yang Liu, the winner of the CCM Violin Concerto Competition)
• Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $12 general admission, $6 non-UC students, UC students FREE. This concert can be included in a flex ticket package.
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8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5
Philharmonia Orchestra
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
“Beethoven Festival”

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
• Strauss: Don Juan

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $12 general admission, $6 non-UC students, UC students FREE. This concert can be included in a flex ticket package.
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8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12
Concert Orchestra
Annunziata Tomaro, music director
Mark Gibson, conductor
“Beethoven Festival Finale”
Maestro Gibson will be joined by student conductors during this festival-ending performance.

• Wagner: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
• Beethoven: Symphony No 1 in C Major, Op. 21
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 (Pastoral)

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $12 general admission, $6 non-UC students, UC students FREE. This concert can be included in a flex ticket package.
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Atrium Concerts
CCM’s Beethoven Festival presents a series of free lunchtime concerts featuring chamber and solo music of Beethoven.

All concerts begin at 12:20 p.m. in the atrium of the Corbett Center for the Performing Arts in CCM Village.

• Tuesday, Sept. 18
• Tuesday, Sept. 25
• Tuesday, Oct. 2
• Tuesday, Oct. 9

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Conducting Beethoven: Symphony, Overture, Concerto
October 5 – 7, 2012

Master Teachers:

• Mark Gibson, director of Orchestral Studies, CCM
• Gustav Meier, director of Graduate Conducting, The Peabody Institute of Music of Johns Hopkins University
• Neil Varon, professor of Conducting and Ensembles, Eastman School of Music

Special Guest Faculty:

• Leon Fleisher, internationally renowned conductor and Andrew Mellon Foundation Chair of Piano; The Peabody Institute of Music of Johns Hopkins University

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation