Emanuel Ax Plays Beethoven

Emanuel Ax joins the Oregon Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Saturday, January 23, and Sunday, January 24. He's there for Piano Concerto No. 4 by Beethoven, a piece known for its poetic grace and the way it lets the piano lead the conversation rather than fight the orchestra. Ax is a pianist who works that side of the music—the lyrical, insightful side—so it's a natural pairing.

Around that concerto, the program looks at the unfinished work of two giants. Both Beethoven and Schubert left behind Tenth Symphonies that they never got to finish, and this concert pairs modern reconstructions of both. Hearing them side by side gives you a sense of where these two composers were heading before they stopped. It's a rare chance to hear those fragments fleshed out into full movements.

Adding a third voice to the mix is Salvador Brotons, a former Portlander whose Symphonic Sketch No. 10 is a bright, energetic piece that leans on the wind, brass, and percussion sections. It's a ceremonial work, and the title nods to the same number as those unfinished symphonies. Between the reconstructions and the Brotons, the evening moves from the incomplete to the fully realized.

The venue is the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall at 1037 SW Broadway, a former movie palace that's served as Portland's main stage for nearly a century. These performances are part of the Oregon Symphony's Classical Series A, with reserved seating and doors opening one hour before the start. You can catch it on Saturday, January 23, at 7:30 PM, or on Sunday, January 24, at 2:00 PM.