JSO Subscription Concert #2, November 15, 2008, 8:00pm - "Heros"

Potter Center Music Hall at Jackson Community College, Jackson, Michigan.

For information call 517-782-3221, Sponsored by Spring Arbor University

Who couldn't use a hero right about now? Heroes inspire us to be optimistic, face challenges and, yes, to dream. The JSO's November 15 concert celebrates heroism in the world of music, so get ready to be inspired.

The concert will include one of Ludwig von Beethoven's most famous works, the Eroica symphony, written in 1803 when he was going deaf.

Also on the program are two modern pieces: a brand new composition based on the chivalrous, fictional character Don Quixote and a 20th Century concerto for piano.

Beethoven wrote Symphony #3 in E-flat Major (subtitled Eroica, which is the Italian for heroic) in a style that was louder, longer and more emotional than his previous works. Eroica brought about a major change in the music world. The Classical Era ended and the Romantic Era began as others emulated him. Although it was once thought that Eroica was written as a tribute to Napoleon, modern scholars now believe the music may be more autobiographical and that the "hero" in the title is Beethoven himself. The JSO's concert program book quotes music critic J.W.N. Sullivan describing the work this way: "The first movement is an expression of Beethoven's courage in confronting deafness, the second, slow and dirgelike, depicting the overwhelming despair he felt, the third, the scherzo, an indomitable uprising of creative energy and the fourth an exuberant outpouring of creative energy."

Next on the program is a special piece of music, Quixote, that Composer-in-Residence Bruce Brown wrote for the JSO's principal violist, Clyde McKaney. This will be McKaney's first public solo appearance performing Quixote. Brown, who is chair of the Music Department at Spring Arbor University, said he wanted to compose something that would "let McKaney's outstanding abilities shine."

The piece is divided into five movements. Each represents Quixote's sometimes foolish, sometimes romantic and sometimes admirable ways.

Finally on the program, pianist Brad Blackham will perform Piano Concerto, by the award-winning composer Carl Vine. For many, the piece will be reminiscent of the piano works of Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, George Gershwin and Francis Poulenc. Indeed, Vine has said he wrote Piano Concerto as a tribute to the piano concerto tradition.

The Sydney Symphony in Australia commissioned the work for gifted pianist Michael Kieran, who first played it at the Sidney Opera House in 1997.

"Vine's concerto offers a wonderful collaboration between the piano and the orchestra with a challenging and elaborate piano part," said Blackham, who teaches piano and is director of keyboard studies at Hillsdale College. "He certainly knows how to write well for the instrument. I believe that this can be a concerto that becomes one of the standards of the piano concerto repertoire."

• Subscription series sponsor: Spring Arbor University
• Guest Artist sponsor : Melling Automotive Products
• Location: Potter Center, Jackson Community College, 2111 Emmons Rd., Jackson, MI
• Tickets for the performance: Tickets are $18, $27 and $32.
• For more information, please call the JSO office at 517-782-3221.