NORTH TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS NEWS

Hector Guzman and the Plano Symphony conclude the 2015 - 2016 Season with Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 9. The symphony is one of the best known works in all classical repertory. Critics just about universally consider it to be Beethoven’s crowning achievement and by many, possibly the greatest piece ever written. It has been five years since the Plano Symphony offered this stirring work, including the final movement with the “Ode to Joy” sung by four soloists and full chorus. It is the first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony.

The concert opens with a remarkable work that Beethoven wrote as a “brilliant finale” to a concert. Often referred to as the “Mini Ninth,” the Choral Fantasy is on a similar theme as the Ninth Symphony and is written for orchestra and chorus. The work includes a brilliant piano part that Beethoven himself played at the premiere. A grand finale!