Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto – Concert Notes

We look forward to performing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto featuring pianist Marian Lee this coming Saturday, November 6, 7:30pm, at Sterling High School. Please enjoy the following program notes about this piece. Reminder, we are offering a bus that will pick up in Clinton, Fulton, and Morrison, call 563-219-8084 for reservations.

BEETHOVEN –Piano Concerto No. 3 IN C minor, op. 37

     Beethoven’s early fame came not only from his compositions, but his brilliance as a pianist.  Arriving in Vienna at age 22, he displaced the reigning pianists of Vienna’s society, even engaging in piano duels. One of his defeated rivals exclaimed, “Ah, Beethoven is no man, he is the devil. He will play us all to death.” His five piano concerti were written not only as examples of his musical thought and innovation, but as vehicles for his own virtuosity. Due to his rapidly failing health, he was only able to perform the first four.

     Although Beethoven moved to Vienna to study with Haydn, his lessons were few and unproductive. Still venerating Haydn’s works, Beethoven essentially adhered to the classical structure, yet infused his own compositions with Mozart’s melodies, rhythms and phrasings. Professionally, things were going well at this time and his work on the third piano concerto was spread over 3 years and not transcribed for another year. At the concerto’s debut, Beethoven may have completed the solo part as he played, his score containing only some scribbled and unintelligible notes. 

     His first concerto in a minor key, the Third follows the standard 3-movement structure, but is notable as the first to sound like the mature Beethoven.  Deemed ‘intense, dramatic and inventive,” the concerto begins his departure from tradition. The concerto also marked an important technological advancement in the piano itself, adding keys to stretch the piano’s range which Beethoven used fully.

     An aggressive opening features the orchestra at length before the piano entrance. The initial military, march-like theme moves to a singing melody as the piano reworks its own version of the themes.

     The second atmospheric Largo begins with the piano alone in a hushed, romantic mood.  After a cadenza, the movement dies away until a surprise fortissimo chord. Beethoven innovates with a new kind of slow movement, adding harp-like arpeggios for the piano. 

     The final movement opens with a piano solo in a jaunty gypsy rondo.  The energetic, dancelike coda moves into a concluding Presto, ending in high spirits.

Program notes written by Karin Anderson-Sweet

Clinton Symphony Welcomes Pianist Marian Lee to our November 6 Concert

Join us on Saturday, November 6, 7:30pm at Sterling High School for our fall concert. A Belated Celebration will explore two of Beethoven’s works in this observance of his 250th birthday. Pianist Marian Lee will be soloist in the composer’s Third Piano Concerto with the orchestra. The orchestra will then perform Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, the most spirited of his nine symphonies. Dr. Lee has performed worldwide, and teaches on faculty at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

In partnership with Community State Bank, we are offering a bus that will pick up in Clinton, Fulton, and Morrison, please call 563-219-8084 for bus reservations!

Advance tickets are available here, pick them up at the ticket table when you arrive.

Artist Biography

Marian Lee made her New York City debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as winner of the Artists International Award and has appeared as soloist and with orchestra internationally in Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, Norway, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Poland, Brazil, Byelorussia, Estonia, Hong Kong, Thailand, as well as in Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall and Rachmaninoff Hall, and the Hermitage Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. In liaison with the U.S. State Department, Lee also received numerous grants in support of performances of American contemporary music abroad and is a former Fulbright and International Research and Exchange (IREX) scholar.

Marian Lee is frequently invited to perform at international contemporary music festivals and has given numerous world and U.S. premieres by contemporary composers from Russia, France, the Baltic republics and the United States. Recent professional activities include performing as concerto soloist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, violin and piano duos with Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, Frank Almond, (former) concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony and Naha Greenholz, concertmaster of Madison and Quad City Symphony Orchestras. She has also held master classes in Hong Kong, Delaware, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois and Iowa and has the distinct honor of being the first female solo pianist to perform on Iowa Public Radio’s Steinway Café, which is available to watch on YouTube.

Marian made her initial concert debut in high school performing with Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and Flint Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. She entered The Juilliard School as a scholarship student receiving a Bachelor of Music under the guidance of Gyorgy Sandor, whose own piano professor was Bela Bartok at the Liszt Academy in Hungary and is the author “On Piano Playing: Motion, Sound, and Expression,” a staple in the piano pedagogy literature. She went on to receive a Master of Music degree in piano performance with Seymour Lipkin, winner of the prestigious Rachmaninoff Competition and artistic director of Kneisel Hall Chamber Festival. Subsequently, she was awarded the coveted Fulbright Grant to study with Naum Shtarkman, a Tchaikovsky competition laureate, at the Moscow Conservatory in what was then the Soviet Union. During her three-year stay, Dr. Lee witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union and toured extensively within the former USSR. Upon her return to the United States, Dr. Lee completed her doctoral degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music at The Johns Hopkins University with Boris Slutsky, the youngest winner of the William Kapell Competition in College Park, Maryland.

Dr. Lee previously taught at the University of Delaware before moving to the Quad Cities. She also taught at the University of Iowa as a sabbatical replacement for Dr. Ksenia Nosikova. In 2012, Marian Lee moved to Davenport, Iowa and is currently the associate professor in piano and serves as head of the keyboard area at St. Ambrose University. As an active teacher and frequent adjudicator, Dr. Lee is a proud member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), National Federation of Music Teachers (FMTA), the Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA), Quad City Music Teachers Association (QCMTA), and was past president of the Delaware Music Teachers Association (DSMTA). Marian Lee is the founder and director of St. Ambrose University’s Summer Piano Camp for 9-12th grade pianists.

A Joyous Return!

Music Director and Conductor Brian Dollinger will take a solo role in the opening with a Sinfonia Concertante for Double Bass and Viola by Dittersdorf. Dollinger plays double bass, and will be joined by Western Illinois University faculty violist Istvan Szabo. Szabo will then be the soloist in a Fantasie for Viola & Orchestra by Hummel. Completing the program will be Gluck’s “Dance of the Furies” from his opera Orpheus and Eurydice, and a Divertimento in D Major” written by Mozart in 1776, possibly in celebration of his sister Nannerl’s name day. Learn more about the composers, pieces, and our soloists on this page.

We hope you will join us for Saturday’s 7:30 pm concert that will take place in Clinton High School’s Vernon Cook Theater. Note that the parking lot has moved to the north side of 8th Ave South.

Pandemic Protocols – The auditorium for Saturday’s concert is quite spacious, and rows will be blocked off, encouraging a seating distance (Patrons select their own seats). Masks are encouraged, with complimentary masks available to concert-goers. In addition, there will be a hand-sanitizer station at the door. The program is not long, and there will be but a short intermission.

The Clinton Symphony Returns! Riverfront Pops Concert to be June 6, 2021

Riverfront Pops Concert coming up June 6, 2021

After such a long and quiet time, we are so very happy to be planning our return to the beautiful Clinton riverfront!

Is there a better way to get “back together” than with an outdoor pops concert?  Lawn chairs, blankets, soft grass, fun and exciting symphonic music all in the wide-open spaces along our riverfront park….

Bring the entire family for this much needed evening of great symphonic music by your Clinton Symphony Orchestra!  The concert is free, and the Felix Adler Discovery Center will be offering activities for children beginning at 5:30.

Downbeat is at 6:30 p.m.!  Don’t miss out!

Brennon Cavanagh is 2021’s Young Artist

Brennon Cavanagh, a senior at West Carroll High School in Savanna, has been awarded top honors in the Clinton Symphony Orchestra’s annual Young Artist Auditions. Cavanagh won the auditions with a performance of the Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra by American composer Robert Ward.

In addition to the $250 in prize money from the Symphony, the honoree is usually given the opportunity to perform their solo piece with the orchestra on one of their concerts. With the Symphony on hiatus due to the pandemic, that may not be possible this time.

Brennon is the son of Timothy and Kyong Cavanagh, and has been a saxophone student of Emily Bressler since 5th grade. He has been a regular participant in regional honor bands throughout his school years, and for the past two years has been selected for the Illinois All-State Concert Band.

He is enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard as a musician in the 144th Army Band, and will attend a 10-week training at the Army School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA, this summer.

The Young Artist Audition program also awarded honorable mention status to violinist Clara Ashdown of Fenton, and to clarinetist Aubrey Charles of Mt. Carroll. Each will receive a monetary award as well as counsel, suggestions, and encouragement from the panel of judges from the Symphony.

The auditions are held each January, and open to any high school musician in the Symphony’s service area. This is the Symphony’s 67th year, and the auditions have been a service to music education in the area for much of that time.

Update on Clinton Symphony Events

We’re sure it comes as no surprise that due to current events the Clinton Symphony Board has cancelled upcoming events, including tonight’s concert and the June Benefit and Pops concert. Here is a note from our music director:

Brian Dollinger, Clinton Symphony Music Director

“Following the directions of the CDC and various levels of our government, having a large-scale performance with our audience is becoming more and more difficult.  Through this global pandemic of the COVID-19, I’m sure all of us are rediscovering how very important music is to our personal and mental health as well as our society’s.  Whether a person listens to the entire ring cycle of Wagner or every album that the Beatles released, music is a healing and calming agent.

My hope is that more and more people realize just how important live performances are in our society and come out the other side of this pandemic with a renewed love and magnetic draw to be more active in its sustainability and enjoyment.

An appreciation of music starts at an early age, and I know that music education is an important part of making a well rounded student and citizen in society.  During these trying days, having music in our home helps bring an engaging joy and dedication that I wish all families had.  Working with my eight year old daughter on her music theory and violin practicing, listening to my wife play her piano, and my son preparing for college playing juries on the cello, all bring such a brightness and joy to our home.  (We probably have the most music literate German Shepherd on the block!)

Your continued support for the arts and more specifically the Clinton Symphony Orchestra will aid in the sustainability of the arts and continued passing of the knowledge and joys that the arts brings.

We wish you and your family well and good health and are looking forward to being back with our musician family making music very soon.”

~ Brian Dollinger