Eroica delves into Fifth Symphony

Israeli-born pianist Inon Barnatan will tackle Brahms' complex Piano Concerto No. 1.

As a former violinist for the New York Philharmonic, Michael Gilbert has performed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony under a slew of world-famous conductors. He remembers Leonard Bernstein's personal way of launching into the opening four-note motif, which seemed to burst forth from the conductor's arms and legs.

"You have to find what feels natural to you when you play this music," Gilbert said. "The key word is 'natural.' You want to express the natural essence of any particular piece of music, even though it's also being filtered through your personality."

Many people consider those first notes, often described as the "hand of fate knocking at the door," as a window into a conductor's own imaginative depth.

Gilbert recalls that his son, Alan, who is the music director of the New York Philharmonic, once wrote a Harvard thesis on the subject of Beethoven's Fifth.

"The notes suggest a sense of triumph, but not a gleeful triumph," Michael Gilbert said. "There remains a price to be paid. Conductors have a very special relationship with this symphony."

Gilbert's Eroica Ensemble will explore the depths of the Fifth Symphony this weekend in two concerts, both free and open to the public.

The conductor pairs Beethoven with another romantic composer, Johannes Brahms.

Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan will play Brahms' outsized Piano Concerto No. 1.

"It was one of the first concertos that I really wanted to learn how to play," Barnatan said. "I started learning it at 16, but it's so heavy and requires so much stamina, that it took a while to get that elusive combination of a big but gentle sound."

With three movements totaling between 40 and 50 minutes, Brahms' 1858 work has an epic mood that emulates Beethoven's structure and style. Both works are written in the key of D minor.

Born in 1979, Barnatan started playing the piano at age 3 when his parents discovered he had perfect pitch.

"We had a piano in the house and when my mother would play, I would correct her mistakes from the other room," he said. "I was very obnoxious for a 3-year-old."

In 2006, Barnatan recorded an album of Schubert piano works. He has performed with the major symphony orchestras in Cleveland, Houston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. His appearance with the Eroica Ensemble was made possible with funding by the Belz-Parker Artists Ascending Series, based at Baron Hirsch Synagogue, where the Sunday night performance will take place.

Of Brahms and the other romantic and classical composers he frequently performs in concert, Barnatan says he gravitated to their works at an early age.

"They speak to me the most," said Barnatan, who now lives in a spacious apartment in Harlem. "Romantic music is the meat and potatoes of concert pianists."

Eroica Ensemble with pianist Inon Barnatan

Performances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper; and 8 p.m. Sunday at Baron Hirsch Synagogue, 400 South Yates Road. The concerts are free. Call (901) 725-1642.

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