It's May 1824 and Ludwig van Beethoven has a hit on his hands.  The now totally deaf composer is still conducting the last few bars of his new 9th Symphony.  Unfortunately, he can't hear that he is a bit behind and the orchestra has already concluded the piece, to tumultuous acclaim.  Gently, one of his soloists turns Beethoven to face the crowd so he can see the five standing ovations, the hat throwing, handkerchief waving and adoration of his fans.

 

So popular has his final Symphony become that even outside the concert hall, we run into its famous finale, Ode To Joy, everywhere we turn. It introduces feature films, soars over countless commercials, was chosen by a pro wrestler as his personal theme, is the anthem of the European Union and the country of Rhodesia, went viral on the Internet when Muppet character Beaker played it in a video.  It is the basis for innumerable pop & rock songs, and was adapted for a famous hymn.

 

Join us this weekend when Beethoven's joyous Symphony No. 9 arrives at the California Theatre.  Opera San Jose soloists Christina Major, soprano; Layna Chianakas, mezzo; Christopher

Thumb thru the original manuscript of Beethoven's 9th

Bengochea, tenor; and Kirk Eichelberger, bass join Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale and the orchestra. Also on this incomparable program is Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, itself a supreme masterpiece and box office phenomenon.

 

 

SEATS GOING FAST 

This blockbuster concert is a hard ticket to get!

• Friday March 30: Best Availability
• Saturday March 31: Seating Limited, Order Now
• Sunday April 1: Single Seats Only

Symphony Silicon Valley is the professional symphony orchestra of San Jose.  Founded in 2002, the nonprofit company has progressed from a daring idea to rapidly become the greater South Bay's premiere orchestra and a notable community success story.  The Symphony's artists, nationally recruited, locally resident, with an average performance tenure in San Jose of over 20 years, are recognized as among the best in the greater Bay Area.  Led by an exciting roster of distinguished guest conductors on the European model, the Symphony is an anchor tenant of San Jose's magnificently restored downtown California Theatre, one of Northern California's most outstanding music halls.  Symphony Silicon Valley is setting an example of an innovative business model in the arts -- market driven and financially conservative, with low overhead and the flexibility to match its programming to its support base.  Besides the Orchestra's core Classics programming, the Symphony's other concerts include: The exciting Broadway In Concert series combining top Broadway acting talent with the orchestra on stage playing the rarely-heard original full orchestrations of productions from Broadway's Golden Era; Target Summer Pops Free Music Festival, five diverse concerts produced outdoors on the lawn and annually bringing some 18,000 people out to enjoy totally free and family-friendly music.