Program Notes | Opening Weekend: Beethoven’s “Emperor” & Schubert’s “Great”

Ludwig van Beethoven
Born: December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany
Died: March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria
Composed: 1809
World Premiere: November 28, 1811 in Leipzig, Germany
Duration: 38 minutes
Instrumentation: woodwinds, horns and trumpets in pairs, timpani, solo piano, and strings

Take a look at the sleek, 9-foot ebony instrument at center stage.

By 1809, what we call the piano had expanded beyond Mozart’s five-octave fortepiano; however, it took more than another half-century before that development culminated in an instrument the size and scope we hear tonight. Beethoven was prescient in his ambition for the piano, writing music so far ahead of its time that the instrument has continued to grow into the music. Surely, he would have been delighted with the modern concert grand, and nowhere more so than in the “Emperor” Concerto.

Bold innovation: cadenza at the outset
Beethoven tested his boundaries and elasticity of form in this last concerto. One revolutionary move was placing the cadenza at the beginning of the first movement, rather than its traditional placement near the end. Full orchestra intones a resonant, fortissimo E-flat major chord. Solo piano replies with a series of arpeggios that cede to a trill, then figuration, passage work, and a melodic lead-in to a second chord from the orchestra, this time in A-flat. Once again unaccompanied piano responds, this time with more elaborate figuration for both hands. The piano ushers in the third, preparatory orchestral chord—no one in the orchestra has yet played more than a single pitch—and answers it with a more melodic, but still virtuosic, passage to the main theme.

Nearly 100 measures of music unfold before we hear the piano again; clearly Beethoven is in no hurry to make his point. (In fact, this opening Allegro is the longest movement he ever composed.) The soloist re-enters with another grand flourish: this time an ascending chromatic scale and a clarion trill, before a simple, elegant statement of the imperial theme. The piano weaves around the principal melodic ideas, etching elaborate figures without obscuring the noble design of each theme. There is no solo cadenza per se at the end of the Allegro, though the extended coda that serves the approximate function does begin on the familiar chord that usually heralds a cadenza. The structure is broad and symphonic, the music commanding, and yes, majestic.

Employment offer from a foreign monarch
Beethoven composed the E-flat concerto during a period when Vienna was braced for the second onslaught by Napoleon’s army. Ironically, the French Emperor’s brother Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, had recently invited Beethoven to move to Cassel, Germany to become Kapellmeister. Beethoven was tempted. Then three of his wealthy Viennese patrons pooled resources to provide him with an annuity, thereby persuading him to decline the offer.

Vienna had been home to him for so long that he was unlikely to leave at that point. In light of his strong ties to and reputation in the Austrian capital, it is ironic that the premiere of the “Emperor” did not take place in Vienna, but in Leipzig, in 1810. Beethoven’s pupil Karl Czerny played the first Viennese performance the following year.

Berlioz on Beethoven’s slow movement: “The very image of grace”
The middle movement is comparatively brief, perhaps because its rich tonality of B major is so potent. Beethoven’s Adagio un poco mosso emphasizes dialogue between soloist and orchestra. He develops his material almost like variations, with an improvisatory character. Hector Berlioz was a great admirer of this movement, calling it “the very image of grace,” and singling out Beethoven’s ethereal orchestration. Perhaps the most inspired moment occurs at the very end, with the bridge to the glorious finale. The horns hold a single pitch for what seems like an eternity, suspended in midair; then, seemingly out of nowhere, the soloist diffidently introduces the triumphant chords of the closing Rondo, initially posing them as a question.

With affirmation forthcoming from the noble horns, the exultant finale launches its irrepressible joy ride for one of the most delightful and positive conclusions in all Beethoven. As in the first movement, the piano choreographs dazzling figures around the principal themes, without obscuring their contour. Our perception of royal splendor remains unimpaired. The “Emperor” ends with every ounce of the magnificent style with which it opened: virile, spacious, and ever confident.

Franz Peter Schubert
Born: January 31, 1797 in Lichtenthal, Vienna, Austria
Died: November 19, 1828 in Vienna, Austria
Composed: 1825–1826
World Premiere: March 21, 1839 in Leipzig, Germany; Felix Mendelssohn conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra
Duration: 48 minutes
Instrumentation: woodwinds, horns, and trumpets in pairs, three trombones, timpani, and strings

From the standpoint of orchestration, rich thematic material, and sheer majesty, the “Great” C Major is the undisputed pinnacle of Schubert’s symphonic maturity. Maurice J.E. Brown, in The New Grove, calls it “his greatest masterpiece.” Harold Truscott considers the C Major Symphony “a summing up of Schubert’s instrumental thinking from 1811 onwards.” Schubert himself thought the work represented his striving for the highest art.

Ironically, he never heard the symphony performed. He began working on it in 1825. Despite travels to Steyr, Linz, Salzburg, and Gastein, he still found time to work on the symphony. After he presented the manuscript to Vienna’s Gesellschaft der Musikifreunde (Society of the Friends of Music) in 1826, he was rewarded by a stipend “in recognition of his achievements and for further encouragement.” In 1827, Schubert had the manuscript copied for the Gesellschaft, still vainly seeking a performance. The Vienna Philharmonic rejected the work, deeming it overly long and too demanding for the players. Even after Schubert’s death in 1828, his brother Ferdinand was unsuccessful in his attempts to sell the score to a publisher.

Posthumous discovery
That changed when Robert Schumann called on Ferdinand Schubert during the winter of 1838–1839. Schumann examined the score and was awed by its genius. The discovery prompted his famous letter to Felix Mendelssohn that has given musical posterity the phrase “heavenly length.” (Schumann was describing Schubert’s inexpressibly lovely Andante.) When Mendelssohn conducted the premiere in 1839, the symphony still created a sensation, even with extensive cuts. Publication followed in 1840, and the “Great” C Major has been standard symphonic repertoire ever since.

Haydn and Mozart? Or Beethoven? Schubert’s role models
In his earliest symphonies, Schubert relied more heavily on Haydn and Mozart for his inspiration and formal guidelines. After the Fourth, he evidenced a freer approach to the symphony, exercising more personal discretion in areas like modulations, formal structure, and proportion, all of which we have come to associate with the romantic (as opposed to classical) symphony. These factors reach their apogee in Schubert’s Ninth. It is the strongest symphonic link in the continuum from Beethoven to Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler.

We do not know for certain whether Schubert ever heard Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He may have been present at its historic premiere in May 1824. Beethoven’s final symphony was certainly a model for the younger Viennese composer. Indeed, Beethoven had wrought a powerful influence on Schubert as early as his Fourth Symphony (“Tragic”), composed in 1816.

About the music
Schubert was clearly emulating Beethoven’s enormous scale in the older master’s Ninth Symphony. Though Schubert would not have placed such labels as ‘classic’ or ‘romantic’ on his own music, the duality between the two styles is one of the “Great” C Major’s most compelling fascinations. Scoring details such as the use of trombones in all four movements make it unusual. Formal departures from the norm, for example the full sonata form of the scherzo movement, break from tradition and confirm the individuality of the symphony.

Even the slow introduction, brought to such perfection in the late Haydn symphonies, takes on new character in Schubert’s asymmetrical, heroic opening horn theme. Its second measure dotted rhythm provides the impetus for the entire Allegro to follow; his re-integration of that theme into the development section and the coda is one of many felicitous touches in this work so suffused by genius.

The balance of the symphony adheres to classical models. Principal oboe has the main theme in the Andante con moto, which balances march-like elements and brief string outbursts with wistful woodwind writing. In climactic moments, the brasses play with surprising force. Schubert’s writing almost foreshadows Mahler.

Vigorous rhythms drive the Allegro vivace portion of Schubert’s Scherzo. He balances the rambunctious opening gesture with a gentler Austrian Ländler (a slow waltz). The central Trio transports us to the world of folk song and rural village dancing. Schubert’s sudden key changes and gentle use of the brass add interest throughout.

The grand finale is like a force of nature: as if Schubert had gathered up all world energy and invested it in his orchestra. The glory of Alpine Austria and the great outdoors pulses through this Allegro vivace, bringing Schubert’s magnificent symphony to an exuberant close.

2026/7 sees GRAMMY® and Emmy Award-winning conductor Xian Zhang embark on her second season as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony and her eleventh season as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony. She was also recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the China NCPA Orchestra in Beijing, and serves as Conductor Emeritus of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, having been their Music Director from 2009-2016.

Her Deutsche Grammophon recording of works by Jennifer Higdon and Kevin Puts with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Time For Three won GRAMMY® awards in 2022 for Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Instrumental Solo, and her two mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards were for the New Jersey Symphony’s concert films made during the pandemic. Her first recording for Seattle Symphony Media, an album of orchestral works by the Chinese-French composer Qigang Chen, was released in August 2026.

2026/27 guest-conducting highlights include the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony and Sao Paulo Symphony. In Europe, Zhang will be appearing with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, RSB Berlin and the Orchestre national de Belgique.

Other recent highlights have included return visits to The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Montreal Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic which included a performance at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Zhang’s recent opera credits include Madama Butterfly and Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Tosca for the Finnish National Opera.

Zhang previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra. She was also the first woman to hold a Music Director position with a major Italian orchestra, and the first woman to serve as Music Director of a major symphony orchestra on the US west coast.

Zhang originally won a place to study piano, and subsequently conducting, at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conducting Competition in 2002 and was appointed the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair. In 2023, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The Juilliard School and in 2026 was elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Praised by the Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li has earned international acclaim for performances that unite virtuosity with intellectual curiosity, poetic imagination, and expressive depth. At the center of his artistry is a search for the dramatic and emotional architecture within every work, informed by a belief that musical interpretation begins with a close reading of the score. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation and performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Dudamel, Gaffigan, Gergiev, Gimeno, Honeck, Orozco-Estrada, Petrenko, Robertson, Pintscher, Slatkin, Temirkanov, Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.

Highlights of the 2026–27 season include return engagements with the Kansas City, Rogue Valley, New Jersey, Utah, and Seattle Symphonies and the Boston Philharmonic, as well as debuts with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música in Portugal and Solistes Européens Luxembourg. His recital schedule includes appearances in Cupertino and Aliso Viejo, California, and in fall 2026 he joins the Houston Ballet for Sons de L'âme in Costa Mesa.

Since his success at the Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York, Los Angeles, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, and St. Petersburg Philharmonics; the Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Montreal, Houston, Nashville, Sydney, and Tokyo symphony orchestras; and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre National de Lyon, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. International tours have included performances with the Mariinsky Orchestra throughout Europe, the United States, and Russia, the Moscow Philharmonic in Germany, and the Asian Youth Orchestra across China, Japan, and Hong Kong.

As a recitalist, Li approaches each program as a carefully considered artistic journey rather than a succession of individual works. Influenced by his background in English literature, he is drawn to uncovering the relationships, dramatic tensions, and expressive threads that connect works across composers, styles, and eras. His programs seek to reveal fresh perspectives on familiar repertoire while inviting audiences into a broader musical narrative. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Louvre, Davies Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, Seoul Arts Center, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theatre, and other major venues throughout Europe and Asia. Festival appearances include the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence, and the Montreux Festival. An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, and the Dover and Brentano Quartets.

Li records for Warner Classics. His debut recital album, recorded live at the Mariinsky Theatre, was released in 2017, winning the Opus Klassik award for Soloist Recording of the Year. His second recording paired Liszt's solo works with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic, and was released in 2019. His third album with the label, “Movements” was released in the summer of 2024 to critical acclaim and includes solo dance suites by Schumann, Ravel and Stravinsky.

Li gave his first public performance at Boston's Steinway Hall at the age of ten and, in 2011, performed for President Barack Obama at the White House during an evening honoring Chancellor Angela Merkel. His honors include the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Gilmore Young Artist Award, and First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. A graduate of Harvard University and the New England Conservatory, Li studied English literature alongside music while pursuing a longstanding mentorship with Wha Kyung Byun, whose influence shaped his thoughtful and deeply considered approach to musical interpretation. Outside of music, Li enjoys reading, photography, and following sports.