Performing Beethoven . . .

We (being the ASU Choral Union) have two concerts in the fall semester. The fall concert is mostly music by the orchestra; there is quite a bit more vocal music in the holiday concert.

Anyway, on Friday (October 26) we performed with the ASU orchestra in Beethoven's "Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra, op. 80 (1808)." You can read an interesting summary of the work by clicking here. Apparently this was written to premiere along with several other Beethoven blockbusters. The article explains how the theme is similar to the 9th symphony (the theme of which has been adapted into things such as the familiar hymn "Ode to Joy," to use Schiller's title).

OK, the chorus was something of a bit player in this whole production. But it was still Beethoven, and still a very fine work. The piano soloist did great. I much enjoy the rehearsals with the orchestra, and the night of performance was a fine evening all around.

The photo is lifted from a video taken by one of Paul's roommates. Paul, I and Chris are in the third row from the top (L-R), while Nedda is a couple rows down and to the right.

Patrick came up from Tucson and made it to the auditorium just in time for the performance, but not quite in time to take the video (per his usual contribution). He's our #2 fan; #1 also was in attendance of course. The video is pretty good but seems to lack Patrick's experienced touch.

The vocal portion of the work (in German, as you might expect) appears below. (It lasts about four minutes, with the chorus entering at the one minute mark. The entire piece (most of which isn't included below) was about 19 minutes long.)