BEETHOVEN’S “EROICA” SYMPHONY

MASTERWORKS 4: BEETHOVEN’S “EROICA” SYMPHONY Friday, January 8 & Saturday, January 9, 2027 In a concert program themed around commemoration, two Emmy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated artists return to join the Charleston Symphony — Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Violinist Robert McDuffie. Beethoven’s Third Symphony “Eroica” (heroic in Italian) was originally written in tribute to Napoléon Bonaparte. However, when Bonaparte took the role of conqueror, Beethoven replaced the dedication with an ambiguous subtitle. The music is heroic in itself, as it set forth new ideals and higher expectations for the future of symphonies, forever changing the landscape of Western music. PROGRAM Jennifer Higdon (1962- ) Philip Glass (1937- ) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) blue cathedral Violin Concerto No. 1 Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” ARTISTS Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Conductor Robert McDuffie, Violin NOTEWORTHY About blue cathedral, Jennifer Higdon said in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “It was about deciding if life was going to be about living or about death. I was surprised it turned out so positively.” Higdon’s younger brother had recently passed away when she was writing the piece as a commission to celebrate the Curtis Institute of Music’s 75th anniversary. “This piece explores what an orchestra can do for me,” Glass said of his Violin Concerto No.1. “In it, I’m more interested in my own sound than in the capability of particular orchestral instruments. It is tailored to my musical needs.” Listen to McDuffie perform Glass’ First Violin Concerto on an album recorded with the Houston Symphony, released in 1999. >> Listen