The Canton Symphony Orchestra welcomes a fan favorite, M. J. Albacete to the January 14th Converzations. Professor Albacete has been a regular on the stage of the ConverZations series at the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and this time is giving a preview of the upcoming January 26 MasterWorks concert, “Eroica: Beethoven’s Symphony no. 3”. ConverZations has been made possible, in part, by Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressing in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Beethoven, like many composers both before and after him, is known for “stealing” from himself when he searched for musical inspiration. The January 26 MasterWorks concert dives into this phenomenon, showing both how Beethoven took a theme from an earlier work to make a main theme for his third symphony, as well as how Richard Strauss later stole that theme and included it in one of his masterpieces, Metamorphosen. M. J. Albacete explores how these themes were taken and repurposed, as well as other instances of musical “stealing” in Beethoven’s compositions.
After a four-decade career with the Canton Museum of Art, M. J. Albacete retired in 2014 as Executive Director. For many years a member of the Ohio Humanities Council’s Speakers Bureau, his lectures on art, music, and other topics number in the hundreds. He served for a time as reviewer of Canton Symphony Orchestra concerts for The Repository, and a contributor to Fanfare Magazine. At least once each season, he is on call to present a pre-concert lecture for the CSO, and has already made several appearances on the ConverZations series. For the CSO’s recent “Music Takes Shape” education outreach program reaching almost 3,000 area students, Albacete designed a unique geometric construction project. An Adjunct Professor at Kent State University Stark Campus, Albacete teaches a course on the history of architecture.
ConverZations is a series of free public discussions, held at the Zimmermann Symphony Center (2331 17th Street NW) and scheduled the second Monday of every month through April 2019. Attendees are invited to bring their lunch to the lecture, and the CSO provides coffee and light desserts. For more information on upcoming ConverZations lectures and other Canton Symphony Orchestra events, visit www.cantonsymphony.org.
Founded in 1937, the Canton Symphony Orchestra is a fully professional ensemble and organization dedicated to performing concerts that enrich, educate and entertain residents of Stark County and beyond. The orchestra performs classical, holiday, casual, and a variety of educational programs in Umstattd Performing Arts Hall, adjacent to the Zimmermann Symphony Center at 2323 17th Street NW, Canton, Ohio, as well as other venues in Stark County. For more information, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org or call (330)452-2094. Administrative offices are located at the Zimmermann Symphony Center 2331 17th Street NW, Canton OH 44708.
