Oratorio “Jesus on the Mount of Olives”, by Beethoven, at the Banatul Philharmonic TIMPOLIS

The Timișoara Banat Philharmonic opens the series of events within the “Timișoara Musical” Festival, in Passion Week, with the oratorio Jesus on the Mount of Olivesby Ludwig van Beethoven.

The vocal-symphonic concert will take place on Thursday, May 2, from 7 p.m., at the Capitol Hall, where the music-loving public is invited to listen to two works by Beethoven: Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 4 in G major, op. 58, whose soloist will be the pianist Daniel Ciobanusoloist in residence of the Banat Timișoara Philharmonic in the 2023/2024 season, and the oratorio Jesus on the Mount of Olives, Op. 85. The last work, chosen especially for the Week of the Passion, brings to the fore not only Beethoven’s compositional genius, but also the interpretive mastery of the “Ion Românu” Choir of the Banat Philharmonic, prepared by Joseph Todeaand of the “Remus Georgescu” Symphony Orchestra, under his baton Hello Popa. The soprano will also be on stage Luiza Fatyolthe tenor Ovidiu Purcel and the baritone Michael Damian.

Jesus on the Mount of Olives is Beethoven’s only oratorio, remind the representatives of the Banat Philharmonic, adding that this one “it emphasizes the human side of Jesus more than the divine, and was created at a time when Beethoven was beginning to lose his hearing; it is a symbol of man’s creative force despite the trials to which he is subjected. The work, composed in 1803, in just 14 days, (underscoring, if needed, the already known genius of Beethoven) reflects the turmoil of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, when he senses the approaching hour in which he will sacrifice himself for humanity. Confronting his own suffering, Beethoven wrote the oratorio at a time when he was on the verge of suicide, a mental crisis mirrored in The Testament of Heiligenstadtand overcome by immersion in creation and refuge in the pages of the Bible.”

“Virtue… only she can give you happiness… She was my support in my restriction. I owe it to them and to my art that I didn’t end my life… it seemed impossible for me to leave this world before I had done everything I felt I had to do. So I let life go on (…) Divinity, you who from there, from on high, can read into the depths of my soul and know it, you know that only the love of people and the desire to do good live in it!”, wrote Beethoven in The Testament of Heiligenstadtin 1802.

The first performance of the oratorio Jesus on the Mount of Olives it took place at the Vienna Theater on April 5, 1803, and in 1809 it became the composer’s first success on American soil.

The tickets were put on sale on the website of the Banatul Timișoara Philharmonic, at the cashier’s office and on myticket.ro.