“THE EMPEROR!” (Free Concerts)

Click to read the article by Cathalena Burch, posted at tucson.com on March 11.

Mikhail Glinka ~ Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov ~ Le Coq d’or (The Golden Cockerel) Suite
Ludwig van Beethoven ~ Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Opus 73 (“Emperor”)
Piano Soloist, Dr. Rex Woods

Free concerts with open seating. No tickets are required at either location.

The Civic Orchestra of Tucson gets a head-start on celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven in its pair of free concerts this spring. (No worries…more celebrations to come next season!)

Music Director Charles Bontrager leads the Civic Orchestra of Tucson in a free concert of musical masterpieces.

The featured work on the program is Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor,” by Ludwig van Beethoven. The composer did not give the work the name “Emperor”—that was done by his publisher. The piece was Beethoven’s last completed piano concerto and dedicated to his patron and pupil, Archduke Rudolph.

The piano soloist at these concerts will be Dr. Rex Woods, Professor of Music at the UA Fred Fox School of Music.

He recently answered our questions about his connection to Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, what is special about it, what audiences should listen for, and his advice for young musicians. Click to read this interview.

Since presenting his first public solo recital over 50 years ago, Rex Woods has performed as a soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, France, China, and Australia. In recent years he has performed as concerto soloist with the chamber orchestra of the University of Michoacán, the Tucson Symphony, the Mesa Symphony, the Sierra Vista Symphony, and the Arizona Symphony.

Since 1988, he has taught at the University of Arizona, including 14 years as an administrator in the Fred Fox School of Music. Click to read his full biography.

Program Notes, written by Music Director Charles Bontrager