Royal Northern Sinfonia (RNS) will continue their full Beethoven symphony cycle in Carlisle with the epic Fifth Symphony – the most famous piece of classical music ever written – on Wednesday 18 March.
Following the successful launch of the Beethoven 2020: The Next Generation project back in January, RNS will once again take to the stage in St Cuthbert’s Church for the second instalment of the symphony cycle that celebrates the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth and explores why he is still relevant today.
The orchestra will open the concert with Beethoven’s humorous Symphony No.2, which starkly contrasts with the cornerstone that is Beethoven’s Fifth – the evening’s finale. In Beethoven’s dramatic Symphony No.5 the audience experience the composer’s response to increasing deafness and surrounding political turmoil.
Between the two symphonies RNS will perform modern origins by the young composer Nora Marazaite. In her short piece, inspired by the great composer himself, Nora combines Beethoven’s compositional techniques with fragments of traditional Lithuanian songs.
RNS remain committed to championing young female artists by featuring a female conductor and composer in this concert.
Conductor Marta Gardolińska is currently Young Conductor in Association with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and will make her RNS debut in Carlisle.
Ahead of the concert, Marta said: “Being able to dive into Beethoven’s language, trace how it developed from early musical character in the Second Symphony to the revolutionary dramatism of the Fifth, is a fascinating experience that I can’t wait to share with the orchestra and audience.”
Nora Marazaite is a Lithuanian composer currently based in Glasgow, studying for a masters at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She was selected to write a piece of music in response to Beethoven having been successful in the Royal Northern Sinfonia Young Composers’ Competition, which was itself committed to a gender balanced shortlist.
On what the audience can expect from the concert, Nora said: “I think the audience can expect a quite intense emotional musical journey from the evening, especially with a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth to end the concert.
Tickets are £20 standard or £5 for Under 18s and available from Sage Gateshead’s Box Office in person, at sagegateshead.com or on 0191 443 4661. Alternatively, tickets are available from The Sands Centre.
