Beethoven on Fillmore

REVIEW | FRAN MORELAND JOHNS

“If two hours of Beethoven won’t lift your spirits,” said conductor Michael Conley, “then nothing will.” He was not wrong. At a Saturday evening concert — billed as “Beethoven!” — a full house at Calvary Presbyterian Church on Fillmore was treated to the Mass in C Major, plus the Fantasy for piano, chorus and orchestra and highlights of the two-act opera “Fidelio.”

In addition to pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg and eight soloists, music was provided by the Fillmore Choir and a 30-piece orchestra of professional musicians. The Fillmore Choir is Calvary’s community choral society, and Conley also serves as director of music at Calvary.

Even before the music began, Conley brought down the house. To make sure all were familiar with his musical hero, he gave a brief introduction to Beethoven that pointed to current events. He noted that when Beethoven was completing his Third Symphony, the stirring “Eroica,” he wanted to honor the success of the French Revolution. It was a decade after that cataclysmic event, which Beethoven admired, and he planned to dedicate the “Eroica” to Napoleon Bonaparte, the embodiment of the revolution. But when Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor, an enraged Beethoven ripped up the dedication. It was his own “No Kings” moment.

Beethoven was “an immensely complicated figure,” Conley said. He “could be likable and charming,” but “he struggled financially throughout his life and was steadfastly unlucky in love.”

When all of those struggles were added to the deafness that began in his 20s, Conley said, “the sheer force of will required to overcome (his affliction) is a quality that shapes our understanding of Beethoven, both as a man and a composer.”

Amid the energized concertgoers after the performance, one attendee remarked, “I feel like I’ve just completed a great and joyful course in Beethoven 101.”