This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
The North Carolina Symphony, led by Music Director Grant Llewellyn, will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, at 8 p.m., in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh, and again in Memorial Hall on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Sunday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m.. The program will also include Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude, and Brahms’ Schicksalslied [Song of Destiny], featuring the North Carolina Master Chorale.
As scholar Richard E. Rodda writes, “The ‘Eroica’ (‘Heroic’) changed the course of music history. … It was Beethoven, and specifically this majestic Symphony, that threw wide the gates on the unprecedented artistic vistas that were to be explored for the rest of the century. … The modern conception of an artist — what he is, his place in society, what he can do for those who experience his work — stems from Beethoven. Romanticism began with the ‘Eroica.'”
The Resident Chorus of the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Master Chorale has been performing choral-orchestral masterworks for more than 70 years. Under the direction of Alfred E. Sturgis since 1993, the Master Chorale presents a diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to Contemporary. The Master Chorale regularly collaborates with symphony orchestras, opera companies, ballet and touring productions. Founded as the Raleigh Oratorio Society in 1942, the Master Chorale has evolved into a major regional performing arts group that works with over 250 artist-musicians each season, reaching an annual audience of over 10,000 choral arts enthusiasts.
In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks, post-concert discussions, and “Meet the Artists,” which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. Before the Friday, March 13, performance in Raleigh, Associate Conductor David Glover will give a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. in the Swalin Lobby of Meymandi Concert Hall. Before the Saturday, March 14, performance in Raleigh, Catherine Brand of WUNC-FM 91.5 will host a Meet the Artists session at 6:30 p.m. in the Swalin Lobby. Before the Chapel Hill performance on Sunday, March 15, an Evening Overtures program will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Gerrard Hall, next to Memorial Hall. These chamber music performances and discussions allow for a deeper exploration of the music. Generous support for Evening Overtures has been provided by The Hulka Fund for Chamber Music.
Tickets to the Raleigh Classical Series performances on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, range from $18 to $65. Tickets to the Chapel Hill Classical Series performance on March 15 range from $10 to $65. Student tickets are $10. Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time.
Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh. Memorial Hall is located at 114 East Cameron Ave., on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Partners for the 2014/15 Raleigh Classical Series include Clancy & Theys Construction; Duke Realty; Smith Anderson; Duke Medicine; Marriott; and 18 Seaboard.
Partners for the 2014/15 Chapel Hill Series include Carol Woods Retirement Community, and The Businesses of Market Street, Southern Village.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony gives more than 200 performances annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 66 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, and Associate Conductor David Glover.
Based in downtown Raleigh’s spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington — as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year — and cnducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.
Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
North Carolina Master Chorale
March 13-14, 2015 8 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh
March 15, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Memorial Hall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Program Listing:
North Carolina Symphony
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
North Carolina Master Chorale
BACH: Jesu, meine Freude
BRAHMS Schicksalslied [Song of Destiny] for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 54
North Carolina Master Chorale
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55, “Eroica”
I. Allegro con brio
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro molto
