Dum-dum-dum-DUM! The opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are as iconic as they come, a musical phrase that even those new to classical music may recognize  immediately from its popular cultural references. Sarasota Orchestra will perform this massive masterpiece on March 19-22, with guest conductor Katharina Wincor returning to the podium. 

“Despite how well-known the beginning of the symphony is, we have to treat it as what it is: An incredibly shocking first movement of a symphony,” says Wincor. “Nobody composed anything alike, before or after.” Wincor recommends that attendees allow the music to be new again, even if it is familiar. “When we go into the concert with an openness to experience that stirring beginning of the piece, we allow ourselves to fully embrace the journey throughout the subsequent movements that will lead up to the most triumphant and radiant finale,” she says.  

As Wincor suggests, the Fifth gradually builds toward its epic finale, moving from darkness to light until closing in such triumph you need to feel it for yourself. This sensation was important to Beethoven, who once wrote to a student, “Joy follows sorrow, sunshine—rain. It affects me as if I were looking up to the silvery glistening of the evening star.”

Believe it or not, Beethoven’s Fifth is not the only star on the program—these performances also include audience favorites by Brahms and Dvořák. “All three works on the program are true milestones in music history,” says Wincor. “I am especially excited to collaborate with Zlatomir Fung on the Dvořák Cello Concerto.” There’s a key moment that she is especially looking forward to, both as a conductor and as a music-lover herself: “The duet between the solo cello and the concertmaster in the third movement is so incredibly beautiful that it simply melts the heart.” 

And that heart is what the live music experience is all about. “Classical music, and live concerts in particular, have always survived,” says Wincor, adding that performances and artistic events create opportunities for people to interact with one another. “The arts offer that deeply humane experience, and I am convinced that people will always turn to playing instruments and singing together to connect through it as a fundamental human necessity.” Beethoven understood this over 200 years ago, and it is every bit as true today. 

Don’t miss your chance to hear one of the most iconic pieces of music of all time: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. You have four chances: Thursday, March 19 (7:30 pm), Friday, March 20 (7:30 pm), Saturday, March 21 (7:30 pm), and Sunday, March 22 (2:30 pm).

To learn more and purchase tickets to Masterworks: Beethoven’s Fifth, visit Sarasota Orchestra’s website or call the Box Office at 941-953-3434. All programs and featured artists are subject to change.