North State Symphony performs a joyful Beethoven at 2 p.m. Sunday in Redding.
It was an excellent time in the life of Beethoven, and his Fourth Symphony reflected it. The work is lively, happy, even playful. And when most people think of the great composer’s music, these aren’t the words they use. People think words more like powerful, brooding, passionate, precise.
It’s also a good time in the life of the North State Symphony, which will perform Beethoven’s Fourth during a 2 p.m. concert Sunday at the Cascade Theatre in Redding.
The symphony sold out its opening concert in September at the Cascade, which included a stirring performance by piano soloist Jon Nakamatsu, who tackled Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto.
“He was the most spectacular solo artist I’ve ever worked with,” said conductor Kyle Wiley Pickett.
That’s quite a statement, considering that the North State Symphony has collaborated with some heavy duty talent during its eight seasons as a combined orchestra (from the former Chico and Redding orchestras).
When Pickett was planning this season’s program, he noticed that this weekend’s series of concerts fell quickly after the election season. It wouldn’t exactly be the perfect time for Beethoven’s Ninth. After a time when emotions and passions run high, the more lighthearted Fourth Symphony seemed like the perfect call.
“As we’ve been working on this, I think it’s become my favorite Beethoven symphony,” Pickett said. “It’s completely joy-filled and really fun to play and listen to. We’re having a ball putting it together.”
Another showcase on the afternoon will be the North State Symphony’s string section, which Pickett said has become “incredibly strong” in the past few years. The symphony’s string players will perform “Transfigured Night,” a romantic piece by Arnold Schoenberg.
The opening work of the concert will be Rossini’s Overture to the “Barber of Seville,” a lighthearted piece which Pickett predicts will be a crowd pleaser. How lighthearted? It was used in a “Seinfeld” episode, “The Barber,” in which Jerry receives a bad haircut.
Tickets for Sunday’s concert are $24 general, $20 economy and $40 premium. For more information, click here.
The symphony concert is entitled, “A Comedy, A Classic, A Cry From the Heart,” and it will also be performed Friday night at Oroville’s State Theatre and Saturday night at Chico’s Laxson Auditorium.
It’s the second year in a row the symphony has performed in Oroville. A community group raised money to bring the orchestra in last year and the event was a big success.
Despite an economy that typically hurts attendance to performing arts events, Pickett has been warmed by the enthusiasm of fans all over the north state.
