Newsroom

CORVALLIS - The Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra, directed by Marlan Carlson, will present a fall concert inspired by the sounds of nature on Sunday, Nov. 24. The concert begins at 3 p.m. at LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University campus.

Featured works are Beethoven's "Sixth ('Pastoral') Symphony" and Bela Bartok's final orchestral work, the "Concerto for Viola." Opening the program will be the popular "William Tell Overture" by Rossini.

The "Pastoral Symphony", according to Carlson, is one of Beethoven's most endearing and vivid expressions of his deep love of nature. It was composed almost at the same time as the stormy "Fifth Symphony, Carlson notes, yet the two works could hardly be more different in character. While modern critics regard the "Fifth Symphony" as the ultimate expression of Classical rationality in conflict with the tremors of Romanticism and with Beethoven's deeply personal struggle with the concept of fate, the "Pastoral Symphony" is a joyful and innocent return to idyllic nature. Significantly, the final two movements of the symphony are entitled "Thunderstorm" and "Shepherd's Song - Grateful Thanks to the Almighty after the Storm."

The featured soloist in the Bartok "Viola Concerto" is Crescent Valley High School senior Adam Matthes. In addition to having won the Oregon Music Education Association state solo contest in viola in 2002, Adam has won several other competitions in Oregon. He also is the recipient of the national Emerson Electric Co. Scholarship, which provided full tuition to attend the Interlochen Arts Camp. Last summer, Matthes attended the Aspen Music Festival where he studied viola with Professor John Graham from the Eastman School of Music, Jeffery Irvine from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet. He is a member of the Corvallis Youth Symphony and has studied viola with Carlson and with Abigail Stoughton.

The opening work on the program is Rossini's popular "William Tell Overture," made famous by its association with "The Lone Ranger" radio and television programs. Like the Beethoven "Pastoral Symphony," this work is programmatic in nature. Among the references to the story of the Swiss patriot William Tell are sections that bring to mind a mountain sunrise, an Alpine storm, a Swiss cowherd's call to his herd and a revolutionary call to arms.

Admission for high school and college students is free with ID; younger students are free with an adult. Adult tickets are $18 and will be available at the OSU Department of Music, Scandinavian Trading Company, Emporium Department Store, Creative Crafts and Frame Shop, Grass Roots Bookstore, and Gracewinds Music in Corvallis, and at Sid Stevens Jewelers in Albany.

For more information, call 541-737-4061.