Friday Night Lights

This Friday, the ESO is trying something new. Instead of the standard 7:30 or 8 pm start time, and instead of the common format of short work + concerto + intermission + so-and-so's fourth symphony, we're presenting a concert that's a little different, and we're calling it Late Night Beethoven.

It'll be a shorter, more casual concert, with no intermission, and it starts at 9:30 pm. Bill Eddins will conduct, play the piano, and talk about the pieces being performed - with a chance for the audience to ask questions. The lobby will remain open after the show for live music and drinks.

Now in some ways, it's a bit sad that this is "new". We probably should've been doing this for the last 20 years or more, because, outside of the North American orchestral world, this concept is not new at all. Even within the orchestral world, we're not exactly breaking new ground. But I'm going to say, better late than never, and it will be a fun night! And however new or old this concept is for anyone, there is a pretty cool piece on the program: a movement from a Beethoven oboe concerto that has never before been performed in Canada. This is the only movement that survived, in fact, of the only oboe concerto Beethoven wrote. So again, it's not new, but it's new to us, and that's worth celebrating!

Oh, and this concert happens to be on sale this week, with tickets for $29 (or less...), so there's every reason to check it out!