Fort Smith Symphony returns with revolutionary sounds, sweeping romantic melodies and riveting tales for the first concert of the 2024-25 season.

The Sept. 7 Blockbusters will begin with Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto and then conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3. Both pieces were monumental for their time, but their stories make the music just that much more fun to play, said John Jeter, music director and conductor of the Fort Smith Symphony, especially when it comes to Beethoven’s “Eroica” symphony.

“A lot of people consider it the greatest symphony,” Jeter said. “It’s certainly the first symphony of the Romantic period, which was the big period for symphonic works.”

The symphony broke with tradition, though. It was more emotional, less structured and full of dynamics that aren’t that strange to modern audiences, but at the time were unheard.

“Beethoven’s this character who has been basically a classical period composer, [but] his musical gestures just get more and more emotional compared to Mozart or Haydn,” his predecessors, he said. His “artistic temperament” or irritation and emotions came through in long pauses, long sweeping melodies and dynamic contrasts.

Beethoven was inspired by the French Revolution and the democracy he saw in the west. He threw his support behind Napoleon Bonaparte as he began writing his Third Symphony. The opening strings and winds sound heroic — hence the handle “Sinfonia Eroica,” which means “Heroic Symphony” in Italian.

Then Beethoven found out that Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of France. He realized that Napoleon was interested in only acquiring power rather than bringing democracy to Europe.

“Beethoven just had a meltdown,” Jeter said. “There’s a real famous thing where you can see on the manuscript where he had written in ‘Dedicated Napoleon Bonaparte and it’s crossed out,” Jeter said. According to some sources, there are holes in the title page from his quill.

Though there is a funeral march in the second act, afterward the symphony builds back up into a hopeful and happy ending, reflecting the ability of the human spirit to rise above grief, find meaning and enjoy life.

“I think it’s a great way to set the stage for the rest of the year. It’s very epic,” Jeter said. “The Beethoven Symphony has all that history behind it, but it really did change the course of music. Even to this day, it’s a very emotional piece.”

Beethoven’s Third Symphony will provide a contrast to the elegance and excitement of the opening piece, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

“It’s a brilliant showpiece, and the orchestra has some really exciting moments in it,” Jeter said. “Tchaikovsky is very lyrical and he composed a lot of different things. People know him as a ballet composer, and you can tell that in this piece.

“It’s a great juxtaposition to this very Beethoven [symphony] which is very kind of in-your-face and kind of crude, honestly.”

There’s a funny story behind this piece too.

Tchaikovsky originally asked concert pianist Nikolay Rubinstein, whom he admired, to play the concerto. However, Rubinstein didn’t like it and said he would only play it if Tchaikovsky changed it.

According to Brittanica.com, Tchaikovsky refused and instead asked the German virtuoso Hans von Bülow to perform the piece on an American tour. The concerto was an instant success in America and later took over Europe. Rubinstein withdrew his criticisms and later premiered the piece in Moscow.

Jeter said that Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto has risen above other pieces like it.

“It has this sort of Russian exuberance to it. In the last movement, there’s almost like this crazy, drunken Cossack dance … There are big cadenzas for the soloist,” he said. “It checks all the boxes for a show-off beautiful concerto.”

Bringing a youthful excitement to the piano for the FSS performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto will be Chaeyoung Park, a pianist who “does not play a single note without thought or feeling” according to the New York Concert Review.

The award-winning soloist has performed on grand stages in Carnegie Hall as well as intimate chamber music settings with the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra. She has studied piano since kindergarten. She immigrated from South Korea to Lawrence, Kan., at age 10 and began studying with with Jack Winerock, professor in the Department of Music and Dance in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas.

While in junior high and high school she won several national awards and has performed with many orchestras. She has a bachelor’s in music from Juilliard School and is currently working on a master’s degree.

Park also works with the Young Concert Artists (YCA) a New York City-based artist management company that discovers and promotes the careers of young classical musicians from all over the world. Jeter said that the symphony has been working with the company for more than two decades to bring a youthful energy to the symphony.

“They have a lot of energy … that kind of youthful energy and passion,” said Jeter. The piece is often fresh for the soloist, but they have the experience to bring some new to the performance.

Following the concert will be an after-party at The Bakery District, right across the street from Arc Best Performing Arts Center. Jeter said that guest may trade tickets for beverages. There will be music from “Jim and Juice.”

Tickets to the concert are $50-$55, $25 for students at fortsmithsymphony.org.

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FAQ

‘Blockbusters’

WHAT— The Fort Smith Symphony opens the 2024-25 season with Tchaikovsky‘s First Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3. Pianist Chaeyoung Park is soloist.

WHEN — 7 p.m. Sept. 7

WHERE — Arc Best Performing Arts Center, Fort Smith

TICKETS — $50-$55, $25 for students

INFO — fortsmithsymphony.org

BONUS — An afterparty starts at 8:30 p.m Sept. 7 following the performance. Patrons may get one beverage per ticket.

UP Next — ‘Nothin’ But The Blues, 7 p.m. Oct. 12 with New York-based jazz/blues vocalist, Shayna Steele.