Good things come in threes! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first performances of 2025 with Beethoven x3. We were so lucky to feature three soloists: violinist Gil Shaham, pianist Orli Shaham, and cellist Sterling Elliott. Continue reading below for a prelude discussion bonus, reviews and photos from the concert weekend!
Prelude Discussion with Randal Swiggum
Randal Swiggum was our Prelude Discussion guest and he spoke for 30 mins an hour before the concert began in the Overture Hall. This is a free addition to any ticket holders who are attending the event. He added his own insights, went through each piece and shared information so that the audience would have more of an understanding of what they were about to enjoy. He even wrote a special note that he shared at the end to finish his discussion and we wanted to share that with you below.
“What we are doing here tonight is very old-fashioned. Countercultural. Some would say “anachronistic.” Against a culture of fast swiping, clicks, and short attention spans, with portable entertainment devices that cater to anything we want, and will change it up for us with just another swipe, we are going to do something crazy. We are going to sit quietly, even reverently, like in a sacred service, several thousand of us here in Overture Hall–so quiet that we can hear the softest notes of the orchestra.
We’re going to try and hear the details of these transcendent worlds that Beethoven has conjured up, these massive works of sonic architecture, and we’re going to do it together. We could be listening alone at home, with headphones, where we could swipe ahead if we get bored. But not here. Here we will engage our minds with Beethoven (on Beethoven’s terms) and with each other, as humans have done for over 200 years now, with these very pieces. And I believe this careful listening will reward us, as it always does, with not just a night of lovely entertainment, but, in this fragmented, individualistic and even fractious time, to ponder, through sound, what it means to be human.“
Madison Symphony performs Beethoven’s joyous triple concerto
Matt Ambrosio // Cap Times
The weekend’s Madison Symphony Orchestra concert series is an all-Beethoven affair, with three massive works by the legendary composer: the triumphant Leonore Overture no. 3, the surprisingly joyous symphony no. 2, and the unprecedented Triple Concerto, featuring soloists Gil Shaham (violin), Orli Shaham (piano) and Sterling Elliott (cello).
Beethoven’s Triple Concerto is a polarizing work and a surprising turn away from his style-defining heroic third symphony completed just prior to the concerto. Some find it unbalanced and lackluster, but if performed with care, the piece can be a fun and exciting romp, as it was in the MSO’s Friday evening concert.
With vibrant energy and contagious smiles, the soloists were thrilling to watch. They looked as though they were having a most delightful time with each other and the MSO, and the joy came through in their playing, especially in moments of levity when, so moved by the music, the soloists’ smiles seemed to spill over into jubilant giggles.
Read the full review on The Cap Times’ website
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A Great Night of Beethoven at the MSO
By Bill Wineke // Madison Independent Arts Review
If you have to head in to a subzero weekend – and we do – you probably can’t find a happier way to begin than with an all-Beethoven concert.
The Madison Symphony Orchestra is offering just that at its Friday, Saturday and Sunday concerts featuring three of the best soloist musicians I’ve heard in a long time.
Gil Shaham, a Grammy Award-winning violinist, his sister, Orli Shaham, a Steinway artist pianist, and Sterling Elliott, a young cellist who seems to be winning every award around, combined to play Beethoven’s “Concerto for Cello, Violin and Orchestra.”
It was one of the nicest works of music I’ve heard for a long time and received an overwhelming reception from the audience.
If I wasn’t looking, I often confused Elliott’s cello with Shaham’s violin; he has a sweetness in his touch that we don’t always experience in a cello.
One of the better things about attending live symphonic performances in Madison is that you get to experience legendary instruments.
Shaham has not one but two Stradivarius violins, A 1699 “Countess Polignac” and a 1719 Cremona, which his publicity description says he plays for performances.
Elliott plays a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello. Orli Shaham doesn’t carry around such priceless instruments but she does a wonderful job on the 2004 Hamburg Steinway that Peter Livingston and Sharon Stark gifted the Overture Center when it opened.
The three of them seemed to be having a joyful time playing together and that, even apart from the music, made for a happy evening.
The program begins with Beethoven’s “Leonore Overture,” which features a trumpet solo from John Aley that would be worth the price of admission all by itself.
So, altogether, a very nice way to step back from January.
Hear what the audience had to say…
“The chemistry between the guests, the orchestra, and John DeMain performing Beethoven was so beautiful it brought tears of joy, one of the most memorable performances I have ever attended.”
“From start to finish, it looked as if everyone was having fun!!”
“I have been going to MSO concerts now for decades, and this concert was one of the very best.”
“The Beethoven trio was absolutely sublime! And the three star performers made it look effortless.”
“The musicians executed their performance beautifully, and the soloists were a delight to watch and listen to.”