Ottawa Chamber Music Society ~ Beethoven Benefits the Ottawa Chamber Music Society

BEETHOVEN BENEFITS

THE OTTAWA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa (January 27, 2009) – The Ottawa Chamber Music Society is proud to present the Gryphon Trio and special guest mezzo-soprano Julie Nesrallah in a benefit concert for the Ottawa Chamber Music Society featuring a spectacular all-Beethoven program. The concert will take place Thursday, February 5 at 7:30 PM at Dominion-Chalmers United Church and will include a selection of Beethoven’s charming Op. 108 Scottish Songs, the Trio in G major Op. 1, No. 2, and will conclude with the Trio in B flat Op. 97 Archduke, one of the greatest chamber works of all time.

Featuring one of his first published chamber works as well as one of his best known, the program also includes lesser known arrangements of folk music that Beethoven produced “on the side”. All proceeds from this concert will support the year-round musical presentations and the education and outreach initiatives presented by the Ottawa Chamber Music Society.

“This unusual Beethoven concert is guaranteed to delight audiences. One of Beethoven’s earliest published works, the Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, is a sparkling work that features great breadth and brilliance and reveals the promise of even greater works to come,” enthuses Roman Borys, cellist for the Gryphon Trio.

A collection of Beethoven’s lively and lyrical folksongs are beautifully performed in a premiere collaboration with Ottawa artist Julie Nesrallah and the Gryphon Trio. Beethoven arranged over 200 Scottish, Welsh, Irish, English and other folk songs, most of which are virtually unknown today. While some suggest that he arranged these songs to earn extra money, their charm suggests that the great master truly enjoyed this form of composition. The stunning program concludes with the Piano Trio No. 7 in B-flat major, opus 97, Archduke. Composed in honour of his long-time patron and dear friend, Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s passionate and touching Archduke Trio continues to stand today as one of the greatest works of chamber music ever written.

Single tickets for the benefit concert can be purchased for the special sale price of $30 - $47 and are available at the Ottawa Chamber Music Society box office (401-200 Isabella Street), by calling 613-234-8008, or at the door.