Beethoven’s “Women” at the Library Society
Pianist Irina Pevzner
FRESH FROM THEIR PERFORMANCE in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Actors’ Theatre of South Carolina and Chamber Music Charleston will present “Beethoven: His Women and His Music” at the Charleston Library Society, Thursday November 3 at 7:00 P.M.
This innovative musical drama combines the live classical music of Beethoven’s Archduke Piano Trio with a dramatic rendition of the composer’s private musings. The ‘concert play’ by Clarence Felder—who portrays Beethoven on stage—takes the audience into a salon in Vienna in 1820 where the composer decides to attend performances of his music by visiting musicians from America, and to talk about his life in between the performances.
As the maestro reveals his inspiration behind the music, his emotions ambush him, offering rare insight into both the music and the man. Chamber Music Charleston director, Sandra Nikolajevs, put it this way: “Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the first composers to reveal his passion freely in his music. Our unique collaboration takes this a little further by exploring secrets from his journals and letters.” Mr. Felder adds that, “Ludwig van Beethoven was the first rock star composer, the first to reveal his passionate interior landscape in his music. It is my privilege as an actor to expose audiences to the real man inside the composer, to make him accessible and therefore universal.”
Clarence Felder as Beethoven
The nationally acclaimed Mr. Felder entertains the audience with stories about the various women in Beethoven’s life, including his mother and the women he loved and longed to marry but ultimately lost. About Felder’s previous performance in Charleston during Piccolo Spoleto, William Furtwangler wrote in the Post & Courier: “…Clarence Felder reveals a concise portrait of the great composer through convincingly genuine musings on music, women, and deafness.”
During the performance, Mr. Felder is joined on stage by pianist Irina Pevzner, violinist Alan Molina, and cellist Timothy O’Malley in a production co-directed by Chris Weatherhead and Sandra Nikolajevs, with period costumes and set by Ms. Weatherhead, who commented: “What we have done is create a delightful new art form of great music and acting in a “hybrid theatrical concert” event. It’s a unique opportunity for audiences.”
(You can also read our 2010 review and watch our interview with Clarence Felder.)
The ensemble’s recent week-long residency in St. Thomas was sponsored by The Forum, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide audiences in the Virgin Islands with high-quality events that would otherwise be unavailable on the island. The Forum has presented such acclaimed artists and ensembles as the Juilliard String Quartet, the Pacifica Quartet, clarinetist David Shifrin, and pianists Misha Dichter and Awadagin Pratt.
During their stay in St. Thomas, the musicians visited students at the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School for an educational workshop. “Most of the students had never heard a live chamber music performance, and it was incredible to see their eyes light up as we showed them how music was made,” said cellist Timothy O’Malley. “When we compared our music to the traditional Calypso music the students enjoy on the island, their excitement grew – you could see they got it.”
The same can be certainly be said for the effect that “Beethoven: His Women and His Music” has on audiences. As Lindsay Koob wrote in the City Paper: ” …a memorable show …my personal image of Beethoven is forever altered.”
Tickets are $25 for general admission. Buy online or call 888-718-4253.
Learn more about Actors’ Theatre of South Carolina and Chamber Music Charleston.
