“The classical music world was counting on Beethoven’s 250th birthday this year…. But … countless Beethoven-related events had to be scuttled … or re-imagined,” writes Thomas May in Thursday’s (12/10) Seattle Times. “That’s the approach taken by 17 arts organizations across the Seattle area to create This is Beethoven, a digital, cross-disciplinary festival that will be premiered as streams over four days starting Dec. 16…. The idea for the festival was spearheaded by Kristin Lee and Andrew Goldstein, co-founders of Emerald City Music [which invited] a wide spectrum of artists to collaborate…. The 17 partner organizations range dramatically in size and constituency…. All of the festival performances were recently recorded live for presentation as streams…. There will be accounts of the Fifth Symphony (the Amazon Symphony Orchestra) and the less-often-heard, head-spinningly inventive Eighth (Northwest Sinfonietta)…. [In a] contribution from three artists based at the University of Washington, actor Jeffrey Fracé, who teaches at the School of Drama, crafted a script from his readings of Beethoven’s letters, which he is developing into a multilayered performance piece together with pianist and UW artist-in-residence Cristina Valdés and dancer Rachael Lincoln, assistant professor in the Department of Dance.”
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