Light the candles: KC Symphony continues to honor anniversary of Beethoven’s birth
Note: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect photo of conductor Matthew Halls.
Bach’s Lutheran spirituality is well-known and appreciated. Haydn and Mozart are both associated with the Rococo Catholicism of 18th century Austria. But in the popular mind, Beethoven is considered a child of the Enlightenment, scorning organized religion and shaking his fist at God. But Beethoven did write a handful of sacred works, and, although they were intended for the concert hall rather than the church, they are as deeply spiritual as any cantata by Bach.
The Kansas City Symphony will continue its celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with a performance of one of the composer’s less often-performed sacred works, the Mass in C, Feb. 28 through March 1 at Helzberg Hall.
Guest conductor Matthew Halls will lead the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus and four superb soloists in a work that Beethoven wrote on commission from Prince Nikolaus Esterházy II in 1807. Franz Joseph Haydn used to compose one Mass a year for the Esterházy family until his health started to fail in 1802. Beethoven was aware of this long-standing tradition and had considerable apprehension living up to Haydn’s high standard for sacred music.
Beethoven wrote to the prince: “May I just say that I will hand the Mass over to you with great trepidation, as Your Serene Highness is accustomed to having the inimitable masterworks of the great Haydn performed.”
Unfortunately, the first performance was under-rehearsed and not well-received. “But, my dear Beethoven, what is it that you have done again?” Prince Esterházy is reported to have said to the composer. Musicologist and pianist Charles Rosen called the performance Beethoven’s “most humiliating public failure.” But it wasn’t long before his Mass in C was recognized for the masterpiece it is.
When the Romantic era author E.T.A. Hoffmann reviewed a performance of the work in 1813, he wrote that it had the “expression of a childlike serene mind, which, relying on its purity, trusts in belief in God’s mercy and pleads to him as to a father who wants the best for his children and fulfills their requests.”
Two other works on the program will provide a nice complement to Beethoven’s Mass: Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 and a Sinfonietta by the contemporary Scottish composer James MacMillan.
8 p.m. Feb. 28 and 29 and 2 p.m. March 1. Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $25-$88. 816-471-0400 or www.kcsymphony.org.
Jim Murray Leap Day
Italian composer Gioachino Rossini turns 58 this year. Well, sort of. Rossini was born on Feb. 29 in a leap year, 1792, so although he was born 228 years ago, the poor guy only celebrated 57 birthdays. With 2020 being a leap year, the Northland Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jim Murray is seizing the opportunity to present a topsy-turvy concert that includes a tribute to Rossini on Leap Day, Feb. 29, at Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church.
“When I saw that our concert just happened to fall on Feb. 29, I decided that this was a chance to do something different, a chance to highlight humor in music,” Murray said. “That started me on a hunt for some well-known and not so well-known humorous repertoire.”
Among those works are Haydn’s “Farewell” symphony, which ends with all of the musicians gradually leaving the stage one by one, Mozart’s “Musical Joke,” a Schleptet by P.D.Q. Bach and Leroy Anderson’s “Plink, Plank, Plunk!”
Rossini’s birthday will be honored with his “Cat Duet.“
“’The Cat Duet,’ attributed to Rossini, is for two sopranos and orchestra,” Murray said. “The text, as you might have guessed, is simply ‘Meow.’” Murray’s wife, Nicole Dodd Murray, a delightful singer and adjunct professor at William Jewell College, will be one of the felines. It sounds like a purrfectly wonderful concert.
7:30 p.m. Feb. 29. Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, 7600 NW Barry Road. Free. For more information, www.northlandsymphony.org.
Siberian State Symphony Orchestra Cancellation
The Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, part of the Harriman-Jewell Series, has been put on ice. Due to visa difficulties, the Russian orchestra had to cancel its concert scheduled for March 5 at Helzberg Hall.
If you have a ticket and would like more information, call the Harriman-Jewell Series box office, 816-415-5025.
You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.