Nothing but Beethoven in weekend concerts

Sugar loaf — Maestro Woomyung Choe and the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra present an all-Beethoven concert, with 200 choristers, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, in the Newburgh Free Academy High School Auditorium, Newburgh, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, in the Lycian Centre, Sugar Loaf. Leonore Overture No. 3, Opus 72b and Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, will be performed. There were a plethora of Leonore overtures because Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed a new one each time he revised his only opera, Fidelio (originally titled Leonore after the opera’s heroine). However, too overwhelming for the initial scenes of an opera, the Leonore Overture No. 3 was placed between the two scenes of the second act and is also performed independently as a concert piece. One of the greatest achievements in music, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, is Beethoven’s last complete symphony and has played a prominent cultural role in modern society as a call for universal brotherhood. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and freedom swept across Europe, there was no question what music should be played. Finished in 1824 when Beethoven was totally deaf, it incorporates a poem by Friedrich Schiller, “Ode to Joy,” with text sung by four soloists and a chorus, and stands as the first example of a major composer using the human voice on the same level with instruments in a symphony. The performance will feature the combined choruses of the Newburgh Symphonic Chorale, the Cadet Glee Club of the United States Military Academy, the Middletown City Chorale and the Warwick Valley Chorale. The Shacklett Preview, at 7 p.m. on April 14, is a pre-concert introduction to the evening’s music by Gordon Shacklett. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating, $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors, $10 for students and children under 7 are admitted free of charge. Tickets may be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by calling 845-625-0625 or www.newburghsymphony.org.