Posted March 13, 2022
DAYTON, OH (March 7, 2022) – On Friday, March 18, 2022 and Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 8:00 pm in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center, Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) continue the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s 2021‒2022 Season with a Masterworks concert entitled Beethoven 7 and Strauss.
The Erma R. and Hampden W. Catterton Endowed Artist for this concert is DPO Principal Oboe Eileen Whalen.
As a postlude to St. Patrick’s Day, Neal Gittleman and the DPO open this Masterworks Concert with Charles Villiers Stanford’s delightful Irish Rhapsody No. 1. Stanford’s Irish-inspired music weaves its emerald magic around the traditional “Londonderry Air,” better known with the more familiar title, “Danny Boy.”
The evening continues with the Oboe Concerto by German composer Richard Strauss. Strauss composed his virtuosic Concerto at the end of World War II for the acclaimed John de Lancie—a young U.S. Army corporal and principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra in civilian life. The Oboe Concerto was one of the last works written by Strauss before his death, “contributing to the remarkable ‘Indian summer’ of a long and distinguished composing career” (ClassicFM.com). Dayton Philharmonic Principal Oboe Eileen Whalen takes the spotlight for this wonderful work.
Then, audiences may feel like dancing in the aisles when the DPO performs Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, fairly whirling with rhythmic drive, vibrant energy, and uninhibited exuberance. Wagner called this Seventh Symphony “the apotheosis of the dance itself.” Beethoven’s contemporaries wondered: Was he drunk? Has he gone mad? Musicologist Ernest Newman summed it up simply as “a divine intoxication of the spirit.”
Safety Protocols
The DPAA is excited to welcome audiences back to the 2021–2022 Season. The health and safety of patrons, performers, staff, and volunteers is our top priority. Beginning March 5, 2022, in partnership with DPAA’s venue partner Dayton Live and in accordance with the CDC’s new guidelines, the following new health and safety protocols will be in place at all performances and events:
- Vaccination and Testing – Proof of vaccination or COVID-19 testing will no longer be required to attend performances at Dayton Live venues, including the Schuster Center and the Victoria Theatre.
- Masks – Masks will no longer be required while attending a DPAA performance or event. The DPAA welcomes patrons to wear masks at any performance if they so choose.
Tickets for Beethoven 7 and Strauss start at $5 and are available at the box office by calling (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org. The $5 Tickets are sponsored by AES Ohio as part of DPAA’s “The Arts Are for Everyone” program. Senior, teacher and student discounts are available at the box office. For more information or to order subscriptions, including flexible subscription types that include performances by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.
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About the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) was formed in July 2012 as the result of a groundbreaking and innovative merger between the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the greater Dayton community, with a mission to be the community’s indispensable source for traditional, diverse and innovative experiences in ballet, opera, and orchestral music. The vision of the DPAA is to transform lives through the power of music and dance. The DPAA offers a wide variety of performance and education programs, setting a new standard for artistic excellence. DPAA performances reach an audience of more than 90,000 people annually, and their rich arts education programming serves over 60,000 schoolchildren in 150 schools in the Miami Valley. These performances and education initiatives are made possible in part through major support provided by the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and the National Endowment for the Arts.