Beethoven and More Highlight North Shore Philharmonic Spring Concert

Music Director Robert Lehmann conducts a program that features Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra “Spring Concert” Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. at Swampscott High School

Auditorium.  The concert also showcases contralto Emily Marvosh in Johann Christoph Bach’s “Lamento” and Caroline Shaw’s “Is a Rose.”

The concert opens with Richard Strauss “Serenade.”  Tickets, $35 and $30, are available online at nspo.org and will be available at the door on the day of the concert.

Music Director Lehmann lauded Beethoven’s Second symphony as one of the composer’s “sunniest works, very much in the style of the great masters Haydn and Mozart.”  Lehmann commented that the piece “also was a springboard into (Beethoven’s) own future compositional style, one that would break established molds of the Classical-era style and pave the way for the new ‘Romantic’ period.”

Lehmann expressed excitement in welcoming contralto Emily Marvosh onto the NSPO stage.  She has appeared recently with the Handel and Haydn Society, St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic, among others.  Emily will sing two works, a soulful Lament by Johann Christoph Bach, (an older cousin to the more famous Johann Sebastian Bach) and a new work by the American composer Caroline Shaw, “Is a Rose.”

“’Is a Rose’ is a trilogy of songs set as an orchestral song-cycle composed in 2019”, said Lehmann. “It explores the themes of nature, love and fragility. The work features poetry by Robert Burns, Jacob Polley and Shaw herself. The cycle revolves around the rose as a symbol of beauty, transience, and memory. Shaw’s compositional style is a blend of neo-Baroque and contemporary idioms which seamlessly showcases ‘old’ music in a contemporary setting.”

Composer Richard Strauss wrote the concert’s opening piece, “Serenade for Wind Instruments” early in his career.  Lehmann noted that Strauss, like Beethoven, paid respect to the Classical traditions in this charming piece that evokes the elegance of a bygone era.

The North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra, established in 1947, is staffed largely by volunteer players and is committed to providing access to quality music at an affordable price to communities north of Boston.  The Orchestra strives to develop, train and provide opportunities for young and amateur musicians, while providing a large range of programs covering the full range of symphonic and pops repertoire for a diverse public.   For full concert information, visit www.nspo.org or contact in**@**po.org.