The Concert Connection series at Hartford Symphony Orchestra makes classical music accessible to all

HARTFORD — Have you ever been interested in learning about classical music, but were afraid to ask?
Fortunately the Hartford Symphony Orchestra has a terrific music series called “Classical Connections,” which goes a long way to help audience members understand and enjoy classical music.
The Classical Connections series began in Hartford about six years ago under the direction of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s Musical Director Edward Cumming, who presented the program on his own, along with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, for the first two years.
Rather than playing a symphony straight through from beginning to end, in this series music selections are played by the orchestra, intermixed with spoken exposition about the composers, their lives and times, and their music, to give a deeper perspective and understanding of the artists and their compositions.
The series is concluding its fourth season on Thursday, April 10 and Friday, Arpil 11, with Dr. Robert Greenberg as the guest speaker.
A composer and musicologist, Greenberg is Music Historian-in-Residence with San Francisco Performances, a presenting organization in San Francisco.
Greenberg might also be known to some as the voice behind the audio lecture series entitled: “How to Understand and Listen to Great Music,” which examines the history of European music.
Greenberg says through the Classical Connection series he and Cumming have tried to mix and match known with less well-known compositions of various featured composers.
“We want to find a repertoire folks might not normally hear in a concert series,” Greenberg says, adding: “This is a great opportunity to hear music that is not usually played in the United States.”
The program in April will be the fourth and last of the series this season spotlighting Russian music, featuring the music of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
“Russian music is a great subject,” Greenberg says. It “is very appealing for a lot of reasons. It is a culture like ours that developed late with classical style music. It is very exciting.
“The whole point is great art is timeless,” Greenberg continues. “The music speaks for itself. People can use their own life experience. We try to create the right context for the music to be heard.”
Shostakovich
Shostakovich (1906-1975) might not be a name that comes to mind first when thinking about classical music composers, however he was an integral player in his time, whose music is still relevant today.
“Shostakovich is the most important composer of symphonies and string quartets of the 20th century,” Greenberg says, adding that his music was a direct reflection of the times he lived in.
Cumming says Shostakovich was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, and that Shostakovich was “composing symphonies at a time when many thought symphonies were dead.”
Like Beethoven and Bach, Cumming says, observing that “great composers have a distinctive voice…even 100 years later,” Shostakovich’s music still sounds fresh today.
Shostakovich grew up during the Russian Civil War and then survived under Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev.
The challenge for Shostakovich was how to express his individuality while under intense political scrutiny, Greenberg says, and he did so by finding a way to code his music.
“He had a very difficult life — much of which found its way into his music,” Greenberg says. “He was a witness to rise and fall of Soviet Union, and had to fight for his own individuality.”
Shostakovich was a Russian patriot who didn’t want to desert the country. Later in his life allowed to leave the country on certain occasions, Greenburg says, however, he was always surrounded by his handlers and always had to be wary of what he said.
Lived in constant fear
“He is the poster boy of the life of an artist in a totalitarian society,” Greenberg says of Shostakovich. “He lived in constant fear.”
Despite suffering from polio, lung cancer, and heart disease, with a disintegrating body, he was still somehow able to continue to create memorable music.
“He had an incredible work ethic. His body fell apart; his creative spirit was just unbelievable. Shostakovich was regularly censured,” Greenberg says and “expected to be arrested any moment.”
Greenberg says Shostakovich said: “The only two constants my life are my music and my fear.”
It is difficult to image that under those emotional and physical circumstances he was able to produce great masterworks, but somehow he did, Greenburg states.
Many great artists through the ages have lived varying degrees of tormented lives, Greenberg observes, but says: “Their pain is our gain.”
There will be two Concert Connections performances featuring Shostakovich — 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday, April 10 and April 11, at the Maxwell and Ruth Belding Theater at the Bushnell in Hartford.
The performance will include music composed by Shostakovich including the Polka from “The Golden Age,” symphony no. 1, the first movement of piano concerto no. 2, and movements 2, 3, 4, and 5 from symphony no. 9.
All seats are $25 and are available by calling their box office at 860-244-2999 or by visiting their website at www.hartfordsymphony.org