Chamber to feature seldom heard Beethoven

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Ironwood - The celebration of 2020 as Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday continues with an all-Beethoven performance on Sunday at the Historic Ironwood Theatre.

Five members of the Garland City Chamber Players will perform on Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. in the second-floor mezzanine. The music shows a different side of Beethoven from his more commonly known symphonies.

"It's a survey of how most of Beethoven's music sounds," said Andrew McInnes, the violinist with the Garland City Chamber Players. "The stormy, fiery, powerful, intense and big music is a minority of what he wrote while the preponderance is very much in the classical style and more playful."

The performance will start with Chamber pianists Neil Paynter and Jaryd Traaholt performing Beethoven's "Sonata for Piano, Four Hands in D major, Op. 6." This is the only four-hands piano sonata that was composed by Beethoven.

"It's a very fun piece with two movements," McInnes said. "It's very busy and very, very fun."

Piano for four hands was how most people heard all classical music before the advent of recordings and radio performances made hearing full symphonies possible for more of the general public, he said. The four hand technique was used to perform a "reduction" of a symphony instead of the entire performance, he said.

Chamber flutist Teresa Rusch will perform Beethoven's "Sonata for Flute and Piano," accompanied by Paynter. The piece was discovered among various works in progress on Beethoven's desk when he died."

The authorship is uncertain and it is considered part of a body of work, he said. The piece was not published for another century in 1906.

"This was the only sonata for the flute," McInnes said. "It's a very fun piece."

The performance will continue with a set of seven songs by Beethoven. Chamber soprano Tiffany Darling will sing the "art songs," accompanied by Paynter.

"As art songs they would be operatic but are relatively short and meant to be performed in a small room for a small audience," McInnes said.

The songs are lyrical and busy. Four songs share one story line. The remaining two songs have their own story line.

Chamber violinist McInnes performs with Paynter on Beethoven's "Sonata for Violin and Piano Opus 30, No. 3." The piece was written for Tsar Alexander I, who ruled Russia from 1801-1825.

"It's a very fun and playful piece," McInnes said. "The entire piece meant to be in the Russian style, and it's very fun all the way to the last movement."

The Garland City Chamber Players are members of the Garland City Consort. The consort formed in 2016 as a Baroque chamber orchestra for the Chequamegon Bay area.

The chamber performs at the HIT on the last Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. Performances are $10 with refreshments and a reception following the performance.

Space is limited to 30 guests to allow for the best listening experience in the more intimate space of the Mezzanine.

"I love the HIT and I really want to tie Ashland music with Ironwood," McInnes said. "It's the closest performing arts center; it's the closest big theatre and its a treasure."