IN CONCERT
What: Beethoven 250
Where: Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Rd.
When: March 7 through March 22
Tickets: $35鈥�$58 from the University Centre box office (250-721-8480) or
Victoria Symphony music director Christian Kluxen needs no introduction to Ludwig van Beethoven, the German composer behind some of the most instantly recognizable music in history.
But he certainly needed to think outside the box when it came to planning the Victoria Symphony鈥檚 2 1/2-week celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer鈥檚 birth.
鈥淲hen you program [a season], you think about all kinds of ways to use an occasion like this,鈥� Kluxen said of Beethoven 250, which gets underway Saturday at the University of Victoria鈥檚 Farquhar Auditorium.
鈥淚t was an interesting thing to try with this orchestra. I like these kinds of marathon challenges. Everyone has to push themselves a bit further. Having this kind of pressure is nice sometimes.鈥�
Farquhar Auditorium will be home over the next month to five concerts celebrating all nine symphonies by Beethoven, who was born Dec. 17, 1770. The kickoff Saturday will feature Symphonies No. 5 and No. 3 on the program, while Symphonies No. 2, No. 4 and No. 7 are being performed March 12.
Symphonies No. 6 and No. 8 are on tap March 15, with Symphonies No. 1 and No. 9 completing the run on March 22 and March 23.
Kluxen鈥檚 monumental task was made somewhat easier by the experience level of all involved. There isn鈥檛 a member of a professional orchestra who hasn鈥檛 played at least one of Beethoven鈥檚 symphonies at some point in his or her career.
鈥淭he symphony has never done all of Beethoven鈥檚 symphonies in such a short time, but we have done quite a few of them before, so the musicians have some of my markings in their music already. They know, more or less, what I want stylistically.鈥�
The Victoria Symphony is one of countless orchestras worldwide celebrating the Beethoven anniversary, so Kluxen wanted the Farquhar Auditorium series to be unique.
Kluxen instinctively knew he couldn鈥檛 put Symphonies No. 5 and No. 9 鈥� Beethoven鈥檚 most famous pieces of work 鈥� on the same program, so he paired them with lesser-known compositions.
鈥淵ou have to think about how they fit together. All of them go together in some way, but you can match different levels of intensity.鈥�
Tickets are selling well for the performances, which isn鈥檛 surprising, given Beethoven鈥檚 legacy and enduring popularity.
Not every attendee will be familiar with all the composer鈥檚 symphonies, so Kluxen expects a range of reactions to each program. Beethoven鈥檚 concertos and symphonies are 鈥渧ery different animals,鈥� Kluxen said, but there is much to appreciate in the genius of his writing, no matter where the allegiance of each audience member lies.
鈥淚 see Beethoven鈥檚 symphonies and piano concertos as core repertoire 鈥� they could be compared to a human body part. If you鈥檝e looked at your feet all your life, what will you learn from looking at your hands suddenly? They are totally different, and still the same. But they can be used differently, and will show you other things.鈥�
