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Chilliwack concert to celebrate 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth

Young Beethoven is coming to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre
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Young Beethoven is coming to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on April 10. (Submitted)

An ensemble of musicians will play pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven when they perform in Chilliwack in April.

Young Beethoven is coming to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on April 10 to play a repertoire of songs celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth.

While the actual anniversary was in November 2020, the Chilliwack Cultural Centre delayed the performance because of the pandemic.

“Beethoven waited 250 years for this occasion. If he had to wait one more year it will not make the celebration any less significant,” said tour organizer George Zukerman.

He will accompany Young Beethoven as host-narrator for the concert.

Young Beethoven features a programme of early works written by Ludwig van Beethoven before he was 30 years of age. In his home city of Bonn, he played viola in the Court orchestra. When he moved to Vienna in 1794 he was best known as a virtuoso piano soloist, but he also began publishing early compositions which reflected the strong influence of Haydn and Mozart.

“The programme shines a light on the composer’s prolific output in those early years,” Zukerman said. “There are works that many listeners will have never heard before, some that are very seldom heard, and one or two that are extremely well known.

“I am particularly looking forward to presenting some of these works on tour. Not only are they seldom heard they also reflect a youthful cheerfulness that is often belied by the traditional image of Beethoven, tormented by the world around him. This programme will present Beethoven without the scowl.”

Throughout his lifetime, Beethoven was striving towards a liberated 19th century romanticism, and this program will revel in the music he created.

Young Beethoven is coming to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on April 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults, $32 for seniors and $30 for youth, and can be purchased at the Centre Box Office, online at www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca, or by calling 604-391-SHOW(7469). Audience sizes have increased to 75 per cent capacity.

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