Music’s Master Architects: Beethoven and Shostakovich

Each laboring against demons both personal and political, Beethoven and Shostakovich represent an apex of musical construction and a testament to the potential of mankind. The program begins with Beethoven’s last completed concerto, dubbed “Emperor”, performed by Valley favorite pianist Stewart Goodyear, and the program concludes with Shostakovich’s immensely successful fifth symphony, perfectly threading the needle of managing the approval of Soviet authorities and expressing the suffering of the Russian people.