A total of 40 instruments — including six violas — one conductor, all together and without rehearsal, will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 at The HofGarden, 2818 W. Broad St., at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16.
“It’s all the strings in unison playing very fast and then suddenly stopping,” describes Ellen Cockerham Riccio, executive director of Classical Revolution RVA, which is culminating the celebration of its fifth anniversary with this concert.
“It just immediately puts you into a world of almost panic — like you’re running away but don’t know where to go.”
Bum-bum-bum-bum.
Eight years ago this December, Riccio moved from Cleveland to take the second violin position at the Richmond Symphony Orchestra. She’d not previously thought of herself as a presenter, but she became responsible for organizing symphony concerts. And now she’s shepherded Classical Revolution RVA into its fifth year.
Riccio explains how Beethoven’s Fifth grabs people from the beginning: “The more you listen to it and get to know it, the more you start to hear how Beethoven uses emotive power throughout the entire piece.” This will be a live, raw performance of one of the most famous, revolutionary pieces of classical music ever written, conducted by Daniel Myssyk.
Myssyk, says Riccio, is well-suited for this Beethoven bash. “He’s one of these conductors who is capable of getting so much out of an orchestra with talking or telling them what to do. He’s perfect for this because he won’t get the chance to say much; we start and we go.” This performance is presented through musicians sight-reading the music, and while they may have played the piece before, they may not have ever approached Beethoven quite like this. But long ago, a musician played a little of the Ludwig van for the first time without hearing it before. Imagine that.
Myssyk has conducted for similar Classical Revolution RVA performances, including the group’s four-year-old Mozart Festival. “When you have a conductor, it’s harder to get lost,” Riccio says. But it’s happened. “We’ve had pile-ups,” she says. “During some of these shows, we’ve had to stop and start over. It’s not the polished concert hall show, and that’s what people respond to.”
Five late summers ago, Riccio invited musicians to show up for a jam session at the New York Deli in Carytown. This led to the Classical Incarnations at the former Balliceaux, with different soloists and configurations playing. “Soon, it was standing or floor-sitting only,” she recalls. This led to the formation of the Richmond chapter of the international Classical Revolution that started in San Francisco in 2007. Whether free of charge or for a low ticket price, the Richmond group has staged opera at the Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, a piano-centered program at Lulu’s in Shockoe, a Bar Talk series, and pairings that compared and contrasted classical music.
And novelties like this:
And occasional “Exotica”:
“Our mission is to integrate classical music with our incredibly vibrant art and culture scene,” Riccio says. And it’s presented by largely professional musicians volunteering their time. Still, programming costs money — for space rental and other eventualities.
Riccio wants to increase the scope and frequency of Classical Revolution events. She dreams of a New Year’s Eve event, but adds, with a slight laugh, “It’d be difficult to get musicians to show up for free on New Year’s Eve.” She’d like to add more pairings of music, food and drink, as in the past with Argentina and Tuscany.
The events draw lovers of the music and those who’ve only heard of it on commercials or cartoons. “Their friends drag them along,” Riccio says, “and then they get hooked.” There’s the patron who went and bought a subscription to he Richmond Symphony’s “Masterworks” series, and another who listens to the music at work with the eagerness of a convert. The Mozart Festival’s varied venues — from Plan 9 Records to Can Can to the Candela Gallery, put listeners right next to the action. The musical voices of the composers brushes them on the cheek. For those who feel the vibe, it’s something they don’t easily brush off or forget. Expect a similar experience on Thursday.
Doors open at 7 p.m., and the music starts at 8 p.m.
$5 in advance, $8 at the door. “DJ Rattan” (Rei Alvarez, part of Bio Ritmo and Miramar), will keep the space lively before and after. Tickets are here.
And now, to play us out, Bio Ritmo with Classical Revolution RVA, from 2014:
