Evergreen Symphony Orchestra will present “Jaap van Zweden, Alexei Volodin & ESO” on Nov. 7 and 9 at Taipei’s National Concert Hall and Kaohsiung’s Weiwuying Concert Hall.
The program features two landmark works composed during wartime. It marks the first collaboration between the orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence Jaap van Zweden and Russian pianist Alexei Volodin. Together they will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 — the “Emperor” Concerto — followed by Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100.
Beethoven composed the “Emperor” Concerto in 1809, during Napoleon’s occupation of Vienna. Known for its brilliant virtuosity and grandeur, the concerto has been described as evoking “battlefield, attack, dawn after darkness, and victory of light,” reflecting the composer’s hope amid turmoil.
Volodin, a student of renowned pedagogue Eliso Virsaladze, is recognized internationally for his technical mastery and expressive interpretation. His performance promises to capture the concerto’s heroic spirit and emotional depth.
In the second half, van Zweden will lead ESO in Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, a 20th-century neoclassical work composed in 1944. Written at the end of World War II, the symphony celebrates peace and resilience, reflecting upon a century of Romantic development and serving as resistance against the Soviet political environment. Prokofiev described it as “a symphony about the greatness of the human spirit.”
The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra invites the public to experience these performances on Friday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Taipei and Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2:30 p.m. in Kaohsiung.
Tickets are available through the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra’s website and the OPENTIX ticketing system.
