For Immediate Release
April 7, 2022
Contacts:
For Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: Julie Goetz (412) 905-9058
For Carnegie Library Pittsburgh: Suzanne Thinnes (412) 983-9409
For Allegheny County Library Association: Megan Zagorski (412) 921-1123


BEETHOVEN IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE LIBRARY PROJECT
COMES TO PITTSBURGH IN MAY

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra partners with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Library Association and MuseumLab to present a free concert series of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Library Association and MuseumLab, invites Pittsburgh to explore and to enjoy the musical genius of Ludwig van Beethoven and the community’s historic library system through a free, 16-concert series from May 4 to June 29, 2022. “Beethoven In Your Neighborhood: The Library Project” is a groundbreaking effort that pairs Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians performing each of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets with one of the original 19 Pittsburgh library locations commissioned by Andrew Carnegie.

The Library Project, rescheduled from 2020 due to the pandemic, was originally conceived to commemorate the shared 125th anniversary years of both the Pittsburgh Symphony and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and the 250th birth year of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most performed, influential and known composers in history. The 16 Beethoven string quartets serve as a blueprint of his artistic development and contain many of his most personal statements.

“Ludwig van  Beethoven and Andrew Carnegie each changed the human experience in revolutionary ways. The Pittsburgh Symphony is thrilled to partner with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Library Association and MuseumLab for this deep community engagement of music and community spaces that are each as relevant and influential today as when they were created,” said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The concerts will take place across 16 local libraries that are either an original Carnegie Free Library site or part of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system. Each concert will provide the audience with interactive experiences facilitated by music-educator hosts, symphony musicians, and local librarians and historians, along with a performance of one complete Beethoven quartet played by string musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The city of Pittsburgh is located in Allegheny County, which is home to the first Carnegie libraries in the United States donated by Pittsburgh industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who was also the first chair of the board of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The hosts in the series are Dr. Benjamin Binder, chair of Musicianship Department, Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University; Pierce Cook, Symphonette Conductor, Three Rivers Young People’s Orchestras, and Director of Orchestras at Mellon Middle School in Mt. Lebanon; Moon Doh, assistant conductor, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; and Jacob Joyce, assistant conductor, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The musician quartets are composed of members of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s violin, viola and cello sections.

“When Andrew Carnegie dedicated ‘Carnegie Institute,’ his gift of a library, an art and natural history museum, and a grand music hall (the first home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)—all in one building—to the people of Pittsburgh, he helped solidify our city as a cultural hub,” said Lou Testoni, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Interim Director. “He showed that art, music, and literature are steadfast companions that lift the mind and nurture the soul. More than 125 years later this still holds true. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is very proud to host the internationally acclaimed symphony in several of our library spaces to share their talents directly with our patrons. Indeed, our library is home to one of the most extensive public library music collections in the United States making it an attractive destination for musicians, both amateur and professional, worldwide.”

The concert series will begin on May 4, 2022, on the city of Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s MuseumLab, which is situated on the site of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, the first commissioned for the public in 1886 by Andrew Carnegie. That building (after extensive damage by a lightning strike forced the library to relocate) was reimagined by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to be part of its cultural campus for children and reopened as the MuseumLab in 2019 as a place where children ages 10 and older can have cutting-edge experiences in art, tech and making.

“Libraries are where our communities come to connect with information, resources, ideas, and most importantly with each other. This week is National Library Week, and the theme is ‘Connect with Your Library,’ so we're excited to offer patrons the opportunity to connect with music and musicians during the Beethoven In Your Neighborhood series,” said Amy Anderson, CEO, Allegheny County Library Association.

After the first concert on the Northside, the Library Project will traverse Allegheny County with stops in nine more city of Pittsburgh neighborhoods (in order of concerts: West End, Beechview, Lawrenceville, Hazelwood, South Side, Hill District, Mt. Washington, Oakland and Homewood ) and six suburban neighborhoods (in order of concerts: McKeesport, Edgewood, Oakmont, Swissvale, Homestead, and Carnegie).  Each library event will have a seating capacity of 30-50 seats, providing patrons with an intimate concert and engagement.

The Library Project comprises the second of two parts of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s “Beethoven in Your Neighborhood” project. The first part, Bank of America Symphony Week, kicks off on April 26, 2022, at the Carnegie Science Center where, for the first time in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Symphony Or chestra, under the baton of Music Director Manfred Honeck, will perform all nine Beethoven symphonies in one week. All concerts (except the April 30 at Heinz Hall) are free to the public and general admission. For more information about Beethoven in Your Neighborhood visit: www.pittsburghsymphony.org/BIYN.

Reservations: Beginning April 14, 2022, advance reservations for The Library Project concerts are open to the public at www.pittsburghsymphony.org/BIYN. While reservations are suggested, they are not required to attend these performances.

With gratitude:

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is deeply grateful to sponsors of the Beethoven In Your Neighborhood project. The Library Project is generously supported in part by PNC. Overall project support is generously provided in part by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Catharine M. Ryan and John T. Ryan III. The Bank of America Symphony Week is presented by Bank of America, with additional support from FedEx Ground.  

BEETHOVEN IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE LIBRARY PROJECT

String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Opus 18, No. 1
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 7:00 p.m.
MuseumLab
Pierce Cook, Host
Kelsey Blumenthal, Marta Krechkovsky, Andrew Wickesberg, Karissa Shivone

The Library Project debuts on Pittsburgh’s North Side at MuseumLab, housed at the site of the first of more than 1,600 public libraries that Andrew Carnegie built across the United States. Featuring Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 1 in F major, the series begins its journey with an introduction to Andrew Carnegie, Ludwig van Beethoven, and the masterpieces they created: the establishment of free public libraries for the self-advancement of all and the evolution of the string quartet into a musical form that expresses the complexity of the human experience.

String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Opus 18, No. 2
Saturday, May 7, 2022  2:00 p.m.
CLP - West End
Pierce Cook, Host
Justine Campagna, Kristina Yoder, Stephanie Tretick, Will Chow

The introduction to the works of Beethoven and Carnegie continues with String Quartet No. 2 at CLP West End, one of the earliest Carnegie libraries in the region and among the first libraries in the country to offer a children’s storytime program. Beethoven’s charming second quartet provides a glimpse of the young composer delving into the tradition of the quartet form and beginning to make it his own.

String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Opus 18, No. 5
Saturday, May 14, 2022  2:00 p.m.
Carnegie Library of McKeesport
Moon Doh, Host
Lorien Benet Hart, Sarah Clendenning, Erina Laraby-Goldwasser, David Premo

Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5, presented at Carnegie Library of McKeesport, reflects his high regard for Mozart, who had died at the early age of 35 just a few years before Beethoven began working on his first set of string quartets. Beethoven studied Mozart’s quartet of the same key in great detail as he ventured into the world of string quartet composition, and his String Quartet No. 5 largely mirrors the form of Mozart’s work while containing distinctly Beethoven nuances.

String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Opus 18, No. 4
Monday, May 16, 2022  5:30 p.m.
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library (Edgewood)
Moon Doh, Host
Allison Fujito Peters, Laura Motchalov, Marylène Gingras-Roy, Mikhail Istomin

C.C. Mellor Memorial Library will host Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4, published as part of Beethoven’s first set of string quartets. Named for an original trustee of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh who was appointed directly by Andrew Carnegie, the library opened in 1912 as one of the region’s original Carnegie libraries and today serves the neighborhoods of Edgewood and adjacent Forest Hills.

String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Opus 18, No. 3
Tuesday, May 17, 2022  5:30 p.m.
CLP - Beechview
Pierce Cook, Host
Justine Campagna, Andrew Fuller, Andrew Wickesberg,  Anne Williams

 

Beethoven published his early quartets as a set of six pieces, arranged not by the order in which they were composed but rather in a custom order determined by Beethoven himself. The String Quartet No. 3 was the first quartet Beethoven sketched and portrays from the start a composer mastering a traditional form and moving it in a new direction.

String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Opus 18, No. 6
Saturday, May 21, 2022  2:00 p.m.
CLP - Lawrenceville
Moon Doh, Host
Mark Huggins, Louis Lev, Rimbo Wong, Charlie Powers

The Library Project completes Beethoven’s early quartets at CLP - Lawrenceville, the first of Carnegie’s neighborhood libraries. Set within a neighborhood itself experiencing significant transformation, the afternoon invites us to consider changes in form: the architectural creation of designated children’s rooms in the library, the innovation of open stacks for patrons to retrieve books themselves, and the composition of sudden fluctuations of mood and tempo heard in Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 6. Carnegie’s libraries and Beethoven’s string quartets are in a moment of change.

String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Opus 59, No. 1
Wednesday, June 1, 2022  5:30 p.m.
CLP - Hazelwood
Pierce Cook, Host
Chris Wu, Susanne Park, Andrew Wickesberg, Anne Williams

“Not for you, but for a later age,” Beethoven wrote of his String Quartet No. 7, the first of his middle quartets and a profound turning point in his compositional career. Hear the new and different roles Beethoven crafts for each string instrument in this pivotal quartet at CLP - Hazelwood, whose original location dates to 1900.

String Quartet No. 10 in E-Flat major, Opus 74, “Harp”
Saturday, June 4, 2022  2:00 p.m.
CLP - South Side
Jacob Joyce, Host
Jeremy Black, Lorien Benet Hart, Erina Laraby-Goldwasser, Michael DeBruyn

An air-raid shelter during World War II, CLP - South Side hosts Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 10, an idealistic work composed after the French invasion of Vienna in 1809. With his hearing in rapid decline and Vienna fallen, Beethoven turned to the string quartet to imagine a world after tumult. By turns hopeful and poignant, the “Harp” quartet showcases Beethoven’s evolution in expressing his inner self through music.

String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Opus 59, No. 2
Monday, June 6, 2022  5:30 p.m.
Oakmont Carnegie Library
Moon Doh, Host (tentative)
Jen Orchard, Yeokyung Kim, Marylène Gingras-Roy, Charlie Powers

Beethoven continued to reinvent the possible shapes and sounds of the string quartet with his String Quartet No. 8, the second of a set of three quartets commissioned by Count Razumovsk. Founded by the Oakmont School Board with funding from Andrew Carnegie, the Oakmont Carnegie Library, too, has evolved in its ongoing aim to be a welcoming and accessible resource for the local communities of Oakmont and Verona.

String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Opus 59, No. 3
Tuesday, June 7, 2022  5:30 p.m.
CLP - Hill District
Pierce Cook, Host
Jeremy Black, Dennis O'Boyle, Laura Fuller,  Bronwyn Banerdt

Perseverance, triumph, and joy flow throughout Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 9, written as Beethoven was coming to terms with his hearing loss. Presented at CLP - Hill District, which originally opened in 1899, the present location celebrates the neighborhood’s local history, including the achievements of playwright August Wilson.

String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Opus 95, “Serioso”
Saturday, June 11, 2022  2:00 p.m.
CLP - Mt. Washington
Moon Doh, Host
Ellen Chen-Livingston, Shannon Fitzhenry, Erina Laraby-Goldwasser, Mikhail Istomin

The last of Beethoven’s middle quartets, String Quartet No. 11, dubbed by the composer as “Serioso,” is the shortest of the string quartet cycle. Despite a statement by Beethoven that the “Serioso” was never meant to be heard by the general public, it is perhaps his most well-known quartet, making it a particularly pleasing pairing with CLP - Mt. Washington, popular for its dramatic views.

String Quartet No. 12 in E-Flat major, Opus 127
Tuesday, June 21, 2022  5:30 p.m.
Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale
Benjamin Binder, Host
Kristina Yoder, Irene Cheng, Stephanie Tretick, Allie Lee

The venture into Beethoven’s groundbreaking late quartets pairs the last Carnegie library built in Allegheny County, Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale, with the last quartet to be published in Beethoven’s lifetime, the String Quartet No. 12. This work ushered in a new type of concert experience—intimate yet grand—drawing the listener into an immersive musical journey approaching symphonic proportions, brought to life through just four instruments.

String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Opus 132
Thursday, June 23, 2022  5:30 p.m.
Carnegie Library of Homestead
Benjamin Binder, Host

Dennis O’Boyle, Ross Snyder, Rimbo Wong, Will Chow

One of only a few locations to hold Andrew Carnegie’s full vision of a library paired with a music hall and swimming pool, Carnegie Library of Homestead was among the first libraries he funded in Allegheny County. In this fully realized vision of a space that is “Free to the People” will be Beethoven’s poignant and powerful String Quartet No. 15, featuring the Holy Song of Thanksgiving from a Convalescent to God, an extraordinary musical depiction of struggle and relief.

String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Opus 131
Monday, June 27, 2022  5:30 p.m.
CLP - Main (Oakland)
Benjamin Binder, Host
Louis Lev, Cecee Pantikian, Marylène Gingras-Roy, Michael Lipman

The apex of Beethoven’s string quartet cycle meets its counterpart in the CLP – Main, Andrew Carnegie’s original library gift to the City of Pittsburgh in 1895, and continuing to serve as the city’s primary, full-service resource for information, and current and historic materials. Mirroring the CLP- Main’s continuous architectural form, flowing from library to music hall to museum, is the work that Beethoven considered the greatest achievement among his many quartets: String Quartet No. 14, an uninterrupted, seven-movement masterpiece moving seamlessly among a rich array of melodies and emotions.

String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat major, Opus 130
Tuesday, June 28, 2022  5:30 p.m.
CLP - Homewood
Benjamin Binder, Host
Dennis O'Boyle, Shannon Fitzhenry, Rimbo Wong, Bronwyn Banerdt

The Library Project next travels to CLP - Homewood to explore Beethoven’s extraordinary String Quartet No. 13 in an extraordinary space. The last Carnegie library built in the City of Pittsburgh, CLP - Homewood was also Andrew Carnegie’s home library and features special additional features, including the auditorium where the celebrated “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” television program filmed numerous episodes. A feature of Beethoven’s grand six-movement quartet is its revolutionary Grosse Fuge that pushed the power of the string quartet into a new sphere.

String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Opus 135
Wednesday, June 29, 2022  5:30 p.m.
Andrew Carnegie Free Library
Benjamin Binder, Host
Kristina Yoder, Irene Cheng, Andrew Wickesberg, Allie Lee

The Library Project concludes at Andrew Carnegie’s namesake, the Andrew Carnegie Free Library, the only one of Carnegie’s 2,500 libraries granted permission to use his first and last name.  The end of the journey is celebrated with Beethoven’s final quartet, written in the Viennese countryside during the last months of his life and bearing Beethoven’s signature farewell: “Must it be? It must be!”

 

About Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

About Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

About Allegheny County Library Association

About MuseumLab