Beethoven’s 9th symphony for New York quake fund-raiser
The January 23 concert is aiming to raise half a million dollars, a goal that it may or may not achieve. The orchestra will be conducted by George Mathew, one of the few Indians, besides Zubin Mehta, to have achieved fame as a classical conductor. Mathew was born in the Indian state of
Mathew’s orchestra will be made up of musicians from the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, St Louis Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St Luke’s, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta , the Brentano and Emerson Quartets, and students, graduates and faculty members of the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music.
The performance will feature a quartet of both renowned veterans and rising stars and a chorus of 150-200 assembled from the major choral ensembles in New York City. Mathew, who is also the artistic director, will conduct and Glenn Dicterow of the New York Philharmonic will be concertmaster.
Explaining why he had chosen the maestro’s Ninth Symphony, Mathew said: “What is heard may sound like the familiar tune of the Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony. It is that and much more. The percussion instruments come to us from the Turkish Military Bands of that time. What Beethoven is saying here is no longer the utterance of an individual, but that of a civilisation reaching out to fellow civilisations. What we hear is a German drinking song, embellished and elevated by Turkish music of the Islamic world.
This sums up the possibility that stands before us today; of artists, listeners, nations and civilisations embracing each other and being embraced by art and because of art. There has perhaps never been a moment when it was more appropriate or more urgent to send out
Source: Daily Times
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January 21st, 2006 at 1:03 am
where can i buy tickets?
January 23rd, 2006 at 3:59 am
A great piece, a great cause, and a great conductor! Sure to be a memorable highlight of the winter season.