Bruckner Alert

 

Anton Bruckner

Austrian composer Anton Bruckner devoted himself to God and to music.  And, like Bach, he dedicated his music to God.
   Bruckner wrote nine symphonies, the last one unfinished -- think the "curse of the ninth," a superstition promulgated by Gustav Mahler, that since Beethoven and his monumental Ninth, no one could go beyond nine symphonies.
   They are long, arching and grand and have been called musical "cathedrals."  They are also "absolute" music, i.e. with no program or explicit extra-musical references, though his Symphony No. 8 has been called the "Apocalyptic." 
   Music director Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will perform Bruckner's Eighth Symphony at 8 p.m. January 22 and 23 at Music Hall, a venue  that will welcome its brass-filled splendor.  But be prepared.  It is 75-minutes long, one of the longest symphonies ever written, and will be performed on the second half of the program.

Alice Sara Ott

Opening the concert will be the CSO debut of the rising young pianist Alice Sara Ott in Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, a romantic favorite that is likely to please everyone.
   Tickets are $10-$95 at (513) 381-3300 or order online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org   January 22 is also "College Nite."  For $10, college students get admission to the concert and a post-concert reception with Järvi and the musicians in Corbett Tower at Music Hall, including free appetizers, cash bar, door prizes and live music by a local band.
   P.S.: Come before the concert at 7 p.m. both nights for a "Classical Conversation" by CSO violist Robert Howes moderated by assistant conductor Ken Lam in the Music Hall auditorium.
   All CSO Friday night concerts are preceded by dinners at 6:30 p.m. in the Critics Club at Music Hall prepared by master chef Jean-Robert de Cavel and students of the Midwest Culinary Institute.  Reservations are necessary and the dinners tend to sell out, but call (513) 381-3300 for last minute advice.  The cost is $50, coffee and gratuity included.  Cash bar is available.  Concert tickets are extra.