BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL 2011
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 14 THROUGH SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 18
presented in partnership with High Concept Labs at
Chicago Urban Art Society
2229 S. HALSTED
presented in partnership with High Concept Labs at
Chicago Urban Art Society
2229 S. HALSTED
Festival Passes from $20 - $180.
AMBITIOUS INAUGURAL FESTIVAL TO PRESENT BEETHOVEN AS MAN AND MUSE, FEATURING NEW PORTRAITS, NEW FILMS, NEW MUSIC AND PLENTY OF BEETHOVEN DAY & NIGHT
Beethoven Festival 2011 is a five-day multi-disciplinary celebration of the life, works and spirit of Ludwig van Beethoven through music and art, presented in spectacular fashion at the edgy and acoustically superb Chicago Urban Art Society throughout the day and until 2am nightly. The venue is easily accessible by CTA bus/train and Metra, and car by street or highway (90/94) with either free self-park or valet parking right on location.
5 DAYS + 5 NIGHTS / 70+ musicians / 80+ pieces of music / 20+ living composers / 12+ contemporary artists / 5+ filmmakers / 3+ scholars / 2 actors / 1 poet – features a specially commissioned exhibit of new portraits of Beethoven by leading contemporary artists, short film premieres and installations, twenty new works for piano solo, and music spanning 400 years, from baroque to rock, solo to orchestra, with plenty of Beethoven at center. Food and Drink vendors will also be on location and allow audiences to enjoy concerts with a glass in hand, in a home-like setting.GEORGE LEPAUW, President and Artistic Director of IBP, says that “few people get to experience the great master as he should be: a true radical in a radical setting. Beethoven was a rebel who broke all the rules of musical and societal conventions, changing forever the world of art and the rights of the artist. He was the first modernist. Thus we are challenging all the rules of classical music programming, in honor of Beethoven’s spirit of defiance and experimentation, with the goal of inspiring artists and audiences to be fearless, visionary and always hopeful. Ultimately this project is not really about music, or art, but about humanity and bringing people together around memorable and beautiful sights and sounds.”
SOME OF THE BEST Chicago-based musicians will be performing, including Winston Choi, Marta Aznavoorian, George Lepauw, Aurelien Pederzoli, MingHuan Xu, Sang Mee Lee, David Moss, Avalon and Spektral Quartet members, Chicago Symphony Orchestra members, and many more, along with talented out-of-towners Lara Downes, Reed Mathis and Mayuko Kamio. Additionally, the Beethoven Festival Orchestra Academy Concert of September 16th will be divided into three parts, each with its own conductor: Robert McConnell, Music Director of IBP; Josephine Lee, Music Director of Chicago Children’s Choir; and Daniel Boico, Assistant Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
TWO NEW MUSIC PROJECTS, curated by Chicago-based composer Mischa Zupko, will explore the ways in which Beethoven’s artistry forged new paths in musical language and culture: Beethoven Today, a concert of recent music involving Chicago’s most noted contemporary ensembles including Fulcrum Point, Ensemble Dal Niente, Anaphora and Duo Diorama, & the Bagatelle Project, bringing over 20 new piano bagatelles based on Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” by noted composers including Marta Ptaszynska, George Flynn, Carter Pann and Kristy Kuster.
CONTEMPORARY ART AND FILM exhibit curated by Catinca Tabacaru and including new works by Michael Cuffe, David J. Eichenberg, Carly Ivan Garcia, Mostafa Heravi, Amy Hill, Maya Kalabic, Dennis Lee, Hugh Leeman, Brian Leo, Danielle Lurie, Rachel Monosov, Jason Pallas and Rhom will give the Festival venue its very unique creative and experimental feel.
BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL 2011 IS A COMPLETE EXPERIENCE, SEAMLESSLY MIXING ART, MUSIC, FILM, CONVERSATIONS, EDUCATION, POETRY, FOOD AND DRINK.
To find out about VIP privileges, sponsorship opportunities and advertising options, please emailibp@internationalbeethovenproject.com.
FULL SCHEDULE
THE STORY
The International Beethoven Project, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization founded in 2009 from the outgrowth of a project begun in Paris in early 2007 by concert pianist George Lepauw, has in three short years made an indelible mark on the international music community. IBP first gained global attention when it took the musical world by storm with the World Premiere performance of Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Hess 47 performed by the Beethoven Project Trio (George Lepauw, Sang Mee Lee, Wendy Warner) at the Murphy Auditorium in Chicago on March 1, 2009. The World Premiere performance, which was programmed along with two other recently discovered piano trios of Beethoven and the well-known “Archduke” trio, led to the first complete performance series in history of the known piano trios of Beethoven by the Beethoven Project Trio through Winter and Spring of 2010. The culmination of IBP’s initial “Rediscovery Project” was a one-week residency in New York City that included private performances at the residence of the German Consul, a packed performance at Rockefeller University, as well as a Grand New York Premiere Concert at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on May 18, 2010.
The trios that brought IBP to the fore – Hess 47, Anhang 3 and Opus 63 – were released on Cedille Records in 2010, reaching #24 on the Classical Billboard Charts the first week out. The recording was a co-production of IBP and the award-winning Chicago-based Cedille Records. Max Wilcox, the legendary 17-time Grammy winning producer best known for his recordings of Artur Rubinstein for RCA Victor, served as recording producer for this project at the acoustically perfect American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City.
While the International Beethoven Project was initially born with the single goal of giving the world premiere of Beethoven’s H47, the public’s and the press’s huge enthusiasm for renewed attention to Beethoven in general inspired a grander vision with long-term implications for IBP’s actions. Founder and President George Lepauw, along with other members of IBP who found themselves more deeply inspired as they dug further into Beethoven’s story and music, decided to develop a great plan for the gradual unveiling and planning of the global celebrations of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year in 2020, with the goal of turning it into the greatest year-long celebration for any composer in history.
Beethoven is certainly IBP’s hero, but the deeper intention behind IBP is to celebrate music and the greatest cultural achievements of humanity. Because of this, IBP always attempts to give plenty of context to Beethoven’s world and music, including investigations into how and why our contemporary world can and still does relate to Beethoven, from everyday life to new music, art and politics.
It is IBP’s hope that Beethoven’s own humanism and lofty ideals for a better world can serve as a guidepost for all people and generations. His music, and all that it represents, uplifts and gives much needed hope to all.
source: http://internationalbeethovenproject.com/page.php?page=festival
