Beethoven's Birthday Bash

The Nashville Symphony music director, Giancarlo Guerrero discusses the iconic composer ahead of his 250th birthday celebration.

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There's a big-time party happening at the Schermerhorn this weekend, and it will include birthday cake for everyone!

To celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday, the Nashville Symphony will perform the legendary composer’s music throughout 2020. It all starts this weekend with the Beethoven Birthday Bash, which will feature three of his most enduring and influential works – the Leonore Overture from the opera Fidelio, the groundbreaking First Piano Concerto, and his Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” a landmark piece that changed all the rules about what a symphony could and should be.

Performances take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, and tickets are available at NashvilleSymphony.org/Birthday. As an added festive touch, Café Intermezzo will offer complimentary cake for all attendees in the Schermerhorn’s Main Lobby before each performance, while supplies last. 

Before you go, Symphony music director Giancarlo Guerrero talks about what makes Beethoven’s music so special, and what you can expect at this special birthday celebration.

Where does Beethoven rank among your favorite composers, and why? 

Giancarlo Guerrero: He is definitely in my top three, along with Mozart and Mahler. When I began exploring classical music, Beethoven’s compositions were among the first works I listened to. And even as a young boy, I remember feeling a deep connection to him and his music. I always make a point to try to include some Beethoven each concert season, because it makes both our audiences and myself very happy!

How do you define Beethoven’s place in music history? 

GG: More than any other, Beethoven was the composer who transformed the sound of music and redefined what it is that composers do. He was instrumental in music’s evolution from the Classical period, which had been dominated by Mozart and Haydn, to the emotional Romantic era, and his nine symphonies shook the musical establishment to its core with their brilliance and ingenuity. Beethoven upended how both musicians and audiences understood structure, harmony, form, melodic development and orchestration, and the art form as we know it would sound vastly different today without his influence. 

Why did you choose these three pieces specifically for the concerts?

GG: These works showcase Beethoven’s genius through three distinct musical formats. The Lenore Overture comes from the only opera he ever wrote – he referred to Fidelio as his “child of sorrow” because writing it took so much out of him. Beethoven was also an incredible pianist, and all of his piano concertos served as a vehicle for him to show off his unparalleled virtuosity as an instrumentalist. The First Piano Concerto perfectly exhibits how Beethoven was able to draw from the roots of the Classical style while also employing his own unique approach to the concerto genre. 

The Third Symphony is one of the biggest advances in the history of Western music because of its sheer size and originality. It cut so completely with the traditions established by Beethoven’s predecessors that it was considered avant-garde at the time it premiered. The piece is also deeply personal, because the music serves as Beethoven’s response to the onset of permanent deafness, which caused him to contemplate suicide prior to writing the symphony. 

Why did you invite Barry Douglas to serve as the piano soloist this weekend?  

GG: Barry is one of the most important concert pianists of his generation and an incredible interpreter of Beethoven who has a deep understanding of the composer’s style. He has performed and recorded all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos around the world, which makes him the perfect soloist for these concerts. I have had the privilege of working with Barry in the past, and I always enjoy the experience because we approach each piece as if it were a brand-new work. 

Visit NashvilleSymphony.org/Beethoven for information and tickets to all five upcoming concerts that are part of the Nashville Symphony’s year-long 250th birthday celebration. Up next: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral,” on March 19-21, followed by his iconic Symphonies No. 5 & 9 at Ascend Amphitheater on September 5.