In 1809, Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to compose the overture and incidental music for the Viennese premiere of the tragic play Egmont. Written by the highly influential German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the play explores the heroism of Count Egmont, a 16th-century nobleman who fought for Dutch independence against Spanish rule, and his subsequent imprisonment and execution. The play’s themes of courage and defiance in the face of tyranny clearly resonated with Beethoven; heroic individuals who valiantly stood against oppressive regimes were indeed a recurring theme in his theatrical compositions.

Beethoven’s complete Egmont score consists of an overture followed by nine pieces for soprano, male narrator, and orchestra. Over time, the overture has become celebrated as a standalone work, achieving prominence as the unofficial anthem of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. It remains a staple of concert programs, admired for its stylistic similarity to Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony (1808) in its powerful expressiveness.

In just nine minutes, the overture captures the dramatic essence of Egmont, tracing the story’s arc from struggle to tragedy and finally to triumphant hope. It begins with an ominous minor chord followed by a slow sarabande, a dance of Spanish origin that reflects the occupation central to the play’s plot. This somber opening gives way to delicate melodies, which gradually evolve into passages of tragic urgency. The music climaxes in a battle sequence that depicts Egmont’s defeat, leading to a funeral-like motif interspersed with a gentle melodic line that symbolizes Egmont’s lover, Clärchen, and her vow that his sacrifice will inspire future struggles for independence.

Despite the somber nature of the tale, Goethe specifically requested Beethoven conclude the music on a hopeful note. The composer honored this request with a triumphant coda in F major known as the Victory Symphony. Filled with jubilant fanfares, the coda ensures the overture ends not in tragedy but in optimism, reinforcing the promise of eventual freedom and justice.

 

 

 

 Elena Ruehr says of her music “the idea is that the surface be simple, the structure complex.” And from Gramophone Magazine, “The sound world is wholly Ruehr: it never sounds like anyone else and the effect is exhilarating…her output is unified by her desire to communicate effectively without compromise…”

Currently composer in residence with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, she has a major list of recordings including her orchestral works (O’Keeffe Images, BMOP Sound) as well as the opera Toussaint Before the Spirits (BMOP Sound), her cantatas Averno (with the Trinity Choir, Avie), and her Six String Quartets (the Cypress String Quartet, Borromeo Quartet and Stephen Salters, Avie). Her other recordings include Icarus  (Avie), Jane Wang considers the Dragonfly (Albany), Lift (Avie), Shimmer (Metamorphosen Chamber Ensemble on Albany) and Shadow Light (The New Orchestra of Washington with Marcus Thompson, Acis), as well as many others.

In addition to having a standing collaboration with QuartetES, her works have been commissioned, recorded, and performed by numerous other string quartets, including the Arneis, Biava, Borromeo, Cypress, Delgani, Lark, Quartet Nouveau, Roco and Shanghai string quartets. An award winning faculty member at MIT, she has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and composer-in-residence with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Known for her vocal music and collaboration with poets, she has written five operas, five cantatas and a number of songs. She has also written extensively for orchestra, chorus, wind ensemble, chamber ensemble, instrumental solo, opera, dance and silent film. Her work has been performed internationally and described as “sumptuously scored and full of soaring melodies” (The New York Times), and “unspeakably gorgeous” (Gramophone).

Winner of the Baker Undergraduate Teaching Award, Dr. Ruehr has taught at MIT since 1992 and lives in Brookline.

Tightrope

Directly, or indirectly, we are all impacted by the opioid crisis, and many of us, like myself, have friends or family who have struggled with addiction. I wrote Tightrope in an effort to capture the feelings of someone as they experience and attempt to recover from drug dependence. It is a piece that seeks to provide deep empathy and perhaps a small window into the emotions of those who have suffered through a desperate addiction toward a tenuous recovery.

There are three movements. The first, Soar, refers to the repeated ecstasy one might experience while addicted to opioids. Plummet seeks to capture the feeling of desperation and regret for the addiction and insatiable need for more always lurking in the background. Insomnia is fed by a stream of repeating dark thoughts, then sleep eventually comes.  Finally, in Tightrope, an unstable balance and return to pseudo-normalcy is achieved.  The movement begins with lighthearted energy with a sense of determined optimism. Yet, uncertainty persists: a tightrope walker cautiously taking their next step, wary they might trip and fall.

 

Composed more than two decades after his first piano concerto, Johannes Brahms wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major over the three-year period from 1878-81. During this time, Brahms began referring to his compositions – no matter how lengthy or complex (and they increasingly were) – as “miniatures.” For instance, when writing to close friend and fellow composer Clara Schumann about the second piano concerto, he described it as “a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo.” Similarly, in a letter to another friend, he referred to the work merely as“some little piano pieces.”

These claims of a pocket-sized piece were, of course, wholly ironic; in reality, the concerto is quite expansive.

The work features four movements instead of the typical three and is considerably longer and more intricate than most concertos of its time. With a typical performance lasting around 50 minutes, it was arguably the most ambitious piano concerto written up to that point. The work was an immediate success upon its 1881 premiere and Brahms went on to perform it across Europe to widespread acclaim.

The concerto begins with a noble horn solo that introduces the thematic material for much of the first movement, and piano responds with bold yet elegant arpeggios before launching into a virtuosic cadenza. The opening theme is continuously developed, weaving between the orchestra and piano in a dynamic interplay of tension and resolution.

The second movement takes the form of a stormy scherzo – an unusual choice for a concerto. It is the most dramatic and tumultuous of the four movements, so naturally Brahms referred to it as “a tiny wisp of a scherzo.” A melodramatic outburst in musical form, this movement is chock full of intense, fiery energy.

The slow and songful third movement begins with an unexpected cello solo, establishing a contemplative mood. The melody transitions to the violins before the piano at last takes it up, expanding it into a fierce yet haunting development. The movement concludes serenely, mirroring its gentle opening.

The finale provides a multi-faceted conclusion to the concerto, alternating between distinct sections that range from relaxed and graceful to lively and skipping. The movement builds steadily toward a thunderous coda, bringing this “tiny” (read: monumental) work to an exuberant close.

 

Get connected by joining LSO’s eNewsletter list and by following us on Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram. On our website, read program notes and listen to our Spotify playlist for upcoming concerts. For a more in-depth conversation about each classical concert, watch LSO’s Pre-Concert Chats with Maestro Polochick and special guests, hosted by Nebraska Public Media. The chat for each classical concert is available to view online on our YouTube beginning the Monday prior to the concert and is also screened in the Steinhart Room 45 minutes before the concert begins.

For Lied Center concerts we offer valet parking, and parking is also available at several downtown garages, including Que Place (11th & Q), Larson Garage (13th & Q), Market Place (10th & Q), and Haymarket Garage (9th & Q). Pre-pay for your event parking at parkandgo.org. Street parking is available for our family concerts, located at O’Donnell Auditorium at 50th & Huntington on the Nebraska Wesleyan University campus.

Our family concerts are a perfect way to introduce children to classical music during an hour-long presentation that includes actors or puppets. We also welcome children at all Lied Center concerts, and we provide special children’s program magazines which include educational activities, a coloring page, and a coupon for a free treat at intermission. If your child is becoming noisy during Lied Center events, ask any usher to be directed to the glassed-in room at the back of the main floor, where you can see and hear the performance without disturbing your neighbors.