Beethoven Project: Pre-Concert Talk With Dr. Marie Sumner Lott

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The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven have long been considered the heart of the orchestral repertoire. They epitomize the collaboration inherent in great orchestral playing, bringing together many diverse voices to express universal human experiences and emotions. In this series of pre-concert talks, Dr. Marie Sumner Lott explains how Beethoven and his generation introduced new approaches to writing for the orchestra in works that continue to serve as a foundation for music in today's movies and TV shows, video games, and concert music.

This pre-concert talk will explore Beethoven's mixture of past, present, and future in his famous "Triple concerto" for piano, violin, and cello. Modeled somewhat on the Baroque concerto grosso for multiple instruments and on the Classical sinfonia concertante that paired multiple soloists with an orchestra, Beethoven's 1803 concerto modernized those earlier genres for the Romantic age, using it to look forward to advances in instrumental technique and compositional narrative styles. Like the Third ("Heroic") Symphony and other works from Beethoven's middle period, the Triple concerto conveys a dramatic narrative of striving through adversity to triumph. Unlike those works, though, this one offers a celebration in music of friendship and collaboration among three star soloists. The pre-concert talk will provide some listening excerpts to illustrate historical connections and forward-looking features of this monumental piece.

This event will take place in the Event Room at the Woodruff Arts Center. The Event Room is located on the 2nd floor of the Memorial Arts Building across from Atlanta Symphony Hall.

This event is free for all classical performance ticket holders.

Learn more about the Beethoven Project