We all know classical music as what’s traditionally played in the concert hall as opposed to clubs or stadiums, but Classical music (with a capital “c”) is specific to Western music written in the 18th and early 19th centuries. That’s when it joined broad movements in art and architecture (sometimes called Neoclassical) in venerating restraint, discipline, form, and other virtues celebrated by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Three giants of this era of music history — Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (who wound up helping music transition into the Romantic Era) — take the spotlight as the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra kicks off its new season with its Classical Masters Festival.
The three performances are each composed of one item of the three composers. David Coucheron makes his FWSO debut as the soloist for Mozart’s “Turkish” Violin Concerto, so nicknamed because of the composer’s use of martial tempos, kicking rhythms, and piquant harmonies in keeping with the contemporary vogue for all things Turkish that was going on in the Austrian empire. You’ll also get to hear Haydn’s stately “Oxford” Symphony, Mozart’s masterful “Jupiter” Symphony, and Beethoven’s muscular First Piano Concerto and Second Symphony. Van Cliburn contestants Steven Lin and Gustavo Miranda-Bernales join in as piano soloists.
[box_info]FWSO’s Classical Masters Festival runs Fri-Sun at Bass Performance Hall, 555 Commerce St, FW. Tickets are $20-70, passes are $48-168. Call 817-665-6000.[/box_info]
