The Clinton Symphony Orchestra in concert will observe Beethoven’s 250th birth year on Saturday [2/15]. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. in the Morrison High School Auditorium.
Wellington’s Victory, a seldom-heard work by the renowned composer, will be featured on the concert. It was written to commemorate the victory of the English Duke of Wellington over Joseph Bonaparte, an older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, at the battle of Vitoria driving the French out of Spain. Beethoven was at first an admirer of Napoleon, but famously turned against him when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor.
The patriotic work was premiered on the same concert as Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, which will also be performed on this concert. The composer himself considered the Seventh Symphony one of his best works.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Germany, and was a crucial figure in the transition between the classical and romantic eras of music, and is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time.
The program will also introduce Clinton Symphony’s 2020 Young Artist, Kevin Lemus, a 17-year-old flutist at Sterling High School. Lemus won the honor in January at the annual auditions open to all high school musicians in the area. He will perform the first movement of the Sonata for Flute by Francis Poulenc, accompanied by the orchestra.
Brian Dollinger is in his 13th season as conductor of the 50 area musicians, many of them music teachers as well as many other occupations. This is the 66th concert season of the orchestra, founded in 1954.
Tickets for the concert are available at the door. Adult admission is $20, and all students are admitted free. In addition, one adult accompanying a student will be admitted at half-price.
Complete information for this concert and for the orchestra’s concert season is available on the web at www.clintonsymphony.org, and on Facebook.