“The Saratoga Performing Arts Center together with The Philadelphia Orchestra have announced a celebration of the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven to take place in 2020,” reads an unsigned article in Sunday’s (8/18) Daily Gazette (Schenectady, N.Y.). “The announcement was made at Saturday night’s season-ending performance of the orchestra. In a concentrated four-night event, Aug. 12-15, 2020, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will present all nine of Beethoven’s Symphonies in dialogue with music by composers of today. The Philadelphia Orchestra has commissioned works that reflect on the relevance of Beethoven’s legacy today by its composer-in-residence, Gabriela Lena Frank, and a group of composers from her Creative Academy of Music—including Jessica Hunt, Carlos Simon and Iman Habibi…. The Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus will perform on the fourth night of the event.” Saratoga Performing Arts Center President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol said, “Though Yannick and the Orchestra will also be performing the cycle in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall, only at SPAC will audiences be able to experience the symphonies in this immersive and virtually unprecedented manner.”
August 21, 2019
In photo: Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Photo by Jan Regan
