Contact: Allison Griffin
Public Relations Associate
503-416-6347
March 2, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … “How glad I am to be able to roam in wood and thicket, among the trees and flowers and rocks. No one can love the country as I do…my bad hearing does not trouble me here. In the country, every tree seems to speak to me, saying ‘Holy! Holy!’ In the woods, there is enchantment which expresses all things.”
On Sunday, April 1 at 2 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Music Director Carlos Kalmar and the Symphony will explore Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the work that most clearly illustrates the composer’s intense love of the natural world, at the next Inside the Score Series concert.
Also known as his “Pastoral Symphony,” the piece consists of five movements each with its own title. The first movement, Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country, sets the serene mood which continues throughout the piece. The second movement, Scene by the Brook, elicits the sounds of quails, cuckoos and nightingales along the water. In the third movement, Merry Gathering of the Country Folk, the orchestra portrays a village dance, followed by Thunderstorm, which depicts the storm descending on the countryside in a fury. Shepherd’s Song, the final movement, illustrates Beethoven’s deeply spiritual perspective.
It was no secret that Beethoven disliked the city, where his growing deafness
made communication with others very difficult.
“Even though we will be primarily focusing on Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 6, we’ll also explore how other composers describe sounds using musical
notes,” said Kalmar.
The concert concludes this year’s line-up of concerts for the new series called Inside the Score. Designed for both newcomers and aficionados alike, the series explores the historical and cultural perspectives of the composer’s life and times through increased interaction between audience members, the conductor and musicians. The concerts will lend a ‘behind the scenes’ look at a piece of music that might not be accessible through their own initial research.
Tickets are $16 to $55 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, located at 923 S.W. Washington. Ticket office hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be charged by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets or by calling (503) 224-4400. Discounted tickets for groups of eight or more are available through the group sales hotline at (503) 416-6380. Support for the concert is provided by the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. Media support is provided by The Oregonian and KINK fm.
Images and guest artist bios are available at www.orsymphony.org/media.