2020 marks a big year for Beethoven. It is the 250th anniversary of his birth, and Staunton is celebrating him in style. Heifetz International Music Institute, Mary Baldwin University’s College of Visual & Performing Arts, and the American Shakespeare Center are collaborating to bring the Borromeo Quartet to Staunton for the Beethoven Experience. Over a series of six concerts, the Quartet will perform all 16 of Beethoven’s string quartets.
In addition to the music, the Beethoven Experience concert series, billed as a musical and educational experience, treats its audience to a wider understanding of “the intellectual, political, and artistic currents” that affected his time. After the concerts, the audience will have both enjoyed the music and developed a deeper sense of its influences.
The six concerts will be performed by the Borromeo Quartet over the course of the year at the Blackfriars Playhouse, a perfect venue for chamber music, which is designed to be performed in intimate spaces. Each concert will include music from various periods of Beethoven’s career.
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is known for his tremendous range of work and is considered important in moving music from the classical era to the romantic era. His string quartets – limited to a mere four voices – are considered by many to be his best compositions. This is due to their intimate nature, their emotional connections to his life and times, and their complexity in style, tempo, and emotion.
Borromeo Quartet
The renowned Borromeo Quartet has inspired audiences for 25 years. It encourages “audiences of all ages to explore and listen to both traditional and contemporary repertoire in new ways” by often incorporating multimedia elements such as video projections into its performances. These tools help “to share the often surprising creative process behind some works, or to show graphically the elaborate architecture behind others.”
Symposia
Ticketholders will also be treated to a symposium before each concert. Special guest commentators from the MBU, ASC, and Heifetz community of faculty and experts will investigate the intersection between Beethoven and the intellectual, political, and artistic currents of his time – and ours.
Where:
Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market Street, Staunton, VA
Symposia at 6:30 pm; Concerts at 7:30 pm
Concert Dates and Themes:
- Feb. 24 – Bor-Romeo: Beethoven and Shakespeare Beyond the Tomb
- April 6 – Speaking to God: The Beethoven Hotline: Beethoven’s spirituality, explored and expressed
- May 4 – B.A.C.H.D.N.A.: Beethoven’s worship of Bach, examined and exposed in his quartets
- Oct. 5 – Beethoven’s “Punny Money”: The humor, profundity, and pfennings of Beethoven’s life and music
- Nov. 10 – The Flexing Muscle: The contrary composer’s rigidity – and surprising elasticity – revealed in one formidable fugue
- Dec. 7 – Questions from the Journey: At the end of this epic cycle, a lively Q & A between panelists and the audience
What I did: I wrote this blog post for Staunton Tourism to draw attention to a concert series at the Heifetz Institute.
What I did: I could not assume audience familiarity with Beethoven or the Borromeo Quartet, so I included short introductory blurbs.
What I did: The tone for Staunton Tourism is casual and informative.