The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra invites the audience to sit ringside at Westminster United Church to hear a pair of music heavyweights symphonically duke it out in their second concert in the 2022-23 season.
Led (refereed?) by music director Anne Manson, Beethoven vs Haydn calls into question the student-teacher relationship, nature versus neglect, the hungry up-and-comer taking on an established veteran.
Or, perhaps not something quite so competitive.
“I think that we’re talking about two very different composers,” says Anne Manson. “Two composing souls, musical souls, that are trying to express something very different.”
Of course, each is no doubt a “great” in the musical canon; Beethoven, often considered the rebel and trailblazer whereas Haydn is viewed in a more fatherly light. Though how much Beethoven picked up from his musical mentor in Vienna is cause for debate, especially given that concerts and commissions kept Haydn away from the city and his student.
“My view is that Beethoven learned not from music lessons with composers,” explains Manson. Instead, he likely learned by “absorbing the music” through score study and performance, and there’s no doubt he looked at and heard plenty of Haydn’s music, she says.
The two symphonies on the program – the Symphony No. 96, in D Major, ‘The Miracle’ of Haydn and the Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 in A Major by Beethoven – are separated by roughly two decades and were written under vastly different circumstances.
To hear them one after the other presents the Winnipeg audience with a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the two while, ultimately, enjoying the music.
Played by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Beethoven vs Haydn takes places at 7:30 pm on Thursday, October 6 at Westminster United Church.
Visit: www.themco.ca for more details and tickets!