The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
WSO readies two masterworks
Another area event celebrating the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth will take place Sunday, and it offers the chance to see the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra and a dynamic soloist in concert.
The orchestra, led by maestro Philip T. Ventre, will perform a Beethoven program at 2 p.m. in the new Ann and George Colony Hall at Choate Rosemary Hall, featuring two masterworks, Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” and Piano Concerto No. 5, also known as “Emperor.”
The WSO opens the program with the “Eroica,” first publicly performed in 1805, Ventre says in an email. The powerful and groundbreaking piece, composed while Beethoven was battling his hearing loss, ushered the musical world into the Romantic Era and changed the form of the symphony for the next two centuries, noted Ventre.
The majestic “Emperor” Concerto, first performed in 1811 in Vienna, demands virtuoso performance by the soloist and subtle orchestral colors and changes leading to a triumphant conclusion.
Kariné Poghosyan, an Armenian American pianist who has done two other solos for the WSO, will be the piano soloist for the concerto. She has has appeared as a soloist in Carnegie Hall and with concert orchestras in the United States, Canada and Vienna, Austria.
“The Emperor is the absolute epitome of Beethoven’s ‘Heroic Period,’ ” Poghosyan said in an email exchange. “It truly has it all — deep soulful lyricism, bright touches of humor and, ultimately, the most empowering message of victory we all so often need.”
Tickets ($25) are available on the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra website, by calling 203-697-2261 or at the door an hour before the concert. Shuttle buses will be available for audience members using spaces on the Choate campus and at the Moses Y. Beach School.
The Wallingford Symphony was founded in 1974 by Ventre and Terrence Netter, director of the Paul Mellon Arts Center. In addition to its regular season, the WSO presents special concerts in Wallingford and has presented concerts in nine Connecticut communities, including the outdoor summer July Pops Concerts in Wallingford for 45 years and in Madison for 27 years.