CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Throughout April and early May, scholars and musicians from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and elsewhere will assemble at various venues on campus to compare and share notes by and about composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
All the activity is planned in conjunction with an international conference, “Beethoven and the Creative Process,” May 2-4, at the Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana. The conference, free and open to the public, is organized by William Kinderman, professor and chair of musicology in the School of Music at Illinois and the author of a new three-volume work, “Artaria 195: Beethoven’s Sketchbook for the ‘Missa Solemnis’ and the Piano Sonata, Opus 109” (University of Illinois Press).
Conference-related events include three concerts, a lecture-recital and an exhibition. The exhibition, on view at the Spurlock Museum March 29 through May 3, features original manuscripts of Beethoven’s work, letters, engravings, and a lock of the composer’s hair.
Performances planned include:
University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Don Schleicher, 8 p.m. April 10, Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana. The program will spotlight Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, Op. 37, with Kinderman as featured pianist.
Lecture-recital, “Beethoven and the Creative Process, 6:30 p.m. May 2, Smith Memorial Hall, 805 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana. The program will feature pianist Steven Lubin, Purchase College, New York; Illinois music professor Jerry Siena, tenor; Illinois graduate students Erik Horak-Hult, commentator; Dione Bennett; soprano; and Jeffrey Peterson, piano.
Sinfonia da Camera, conducted by Ian Hobson, 8 p.m. May 3, Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center. The program includes Beethoven’s Seventh and Eighth symphonies.
Oratorio Society, University of Illinois Chamber Singers, and University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fred Stoltzfus, 8 p.m. May 6, Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center. The combined ensembles will perform Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis,” Op. 123, featuring graduate students Elizabeth Ducey, soprano; Christin-Marie Hill, alto; Henry Pleas, tenor; and Timothy Schmidt, bass.
Tickets for performances at Krannert Center are available at the center’s box office, 333-6280, or kran-tix@illinois.edu.
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