Music School Hosting Two-Season Series ‘Beethoven on the Bluff’

The Mary Pappert School of Music will launch in September the first of its two-season concert series Beethoven on the Bluff, which will feature the major piano chamber works of renowned composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

The Early Years, the first season of the two-year series, will be comprised of four concerts that will focus on the music that a young Beethoven (in his 20s) wrote between 1793 and 1801. The series will include popular works such as the Spring Sonata for violin and piano and the Septet for strings and winds.

This isn’t the first time that Beethoven has made an appearance on the Bluff. Artistic director David Allen Wehr, the Jack W. Geltz Distinguished Piano Chair, coordinated the On the Bluff series in 2002 with a two-year, eight-concert traversal of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas.

“Since then, the series has focused on different composers (Brahms, Chopin, Schumann and Dvořák) and national styles (French and Hungarian) in the manner of museum exhibits dedicated to particular artists,” Wehr said.

Performers in the Beethoven on the Bluff series will include music school faculty, members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and internationally celebrated guest artists. The series also marks the debut of The Duquesne Piano Trio, a group comprised of School of Music faculty members Wehr, Charles Stegeman and Adam Liu.

“We emphasize chamber music for piano combined with other instruments and make use of the deep pool of Duquesne faculty and PSO members who enjoy performing outside the confines of their orchestra positions,” explained Wehr.

Beethoven on the Bluff: The Early Years kicks off at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22, with Septet/Piano Trios I. The concert program will feature the Ghost Piano Trio, a piece that is said to be inspired by the Witches Scene from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and its companion, Piano Trio op. 70, no. 2. The performance will also include the Septet, one of Beethoven’s most popular works.

Additional performances of The Early Years series will include:

• Piano Trios II on Monday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
• Violin/Cello I on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m.
• Violin/Cello II on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 3 p.m.

“The series has attracted a strong, loyal following of Pittsburgh music lovers who eagerly anticipate each program and fill PNC Recital Hall on a regular basis, so come early for the best seats,” said Wehr.

All Beethoven on the Bluff concerts will be held in the PNC Recital Hall with a suggested $10 donation for admission. For more information, call the School of Music at 412.396.6083 or visit www.duq.edu/beethoven.