“The Vista Phil experience is superb in all ways… the exquisite concert hall, the quality of the musicians… the whole vibe is warm, inviting, and high-quality. Professionalism at its best.” — Concert Attendee
BEETHOVEN – Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”)
STRAVINSKY – The Rite of Spring
Maestro Bruce Hangen says: Ever since my early days, I’ve liked the combination of Beethoven and Stravinsky. They’re both very muscular and strong in their musical language. Beethoven is all about rhythm translated into melody, and Stravinsky is all about alternating rhythms and contrasting rhythms. Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ is the turning point into the romantic period, for both the composer and music in general. It’s Beethoven’s tribute to Napoleon, though, when Napoleon declared himself emperor, Beethoven scratched out the dedication. Our concert season concludes with another transformational musical landmark, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which was written in 1913 for the Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. According to conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, this work “redefined 20th-century music, much as Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ had transformed music a century before.”
