Based on an incident from 1567, Goethe’s play Egmont (1787) depicts Spain’s occupation of the Netherlands and the titular count’s heroic call for revolution.
In 1809-10, Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to write incidental music for a revival of Egmont. Beethoven threw himself into the task. Goethe’s theme of political oppression mirrored the composer’s own disillusionment with Napoleon, following the latter’s assumption, five years before, of the title “emperor.”
At 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, the Washington University Symphony Orchestra and conductor Steven Jarvi will perform Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, along with works by Adam Schoenberg and Edward Elgar, as part of the Parent and Family Weekend Concert, sponsored by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences.
The performance marks Jarvi’s debut with the WUSTL Symphony Orchestra. Praised as an “eloquent and decisive” conductor by The Wall Street Journal, Jarvi also serves as music director for Winter Opera Saint Louis. He recently completed his tenure as associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, where he led nearly 150 concerts over the past four seasons.
Following the Egmont Overture, the program will continue with Schoenberg’s Finding Rothko (2006). Inspired by the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, the piece consists of four movements, each named for the principal color employed in one of Rothko’s paintings.
After intermission, the program will conclude with Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Op.36 (1898-1899). The composer’s first major work for large-scale orchestra, the piece consists of an opening theme and 14 variations, each dedicated to one member of Elgar’s circle of friends.
The Parent and Family Weekend Concert is free and open to the public and takes place in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, located in the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., at the intersection with Delmar Boulevard.
In conjunction with the concert, Schoenberg — who is composer-in-residence with the Kansas City Symphony — will present a free lecture on “The Twenty-First Century Composer” at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, in the Music Classrooms Building.
For more information, call (314) 935-5566 or email daniels@wustl.edu.