Greenville Symphony presents Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Brazilian violinist Nathan Amaral

Brazilian violinist Nathan Amaral will join the Greenville Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 22 at 3:00 p.m. at Peace Concert Hall.

Music Director Lee Mills will conduct the performances as part of the Symphony’s 79th season, Common Ground.

Amaral has performed as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. He won first prize in the 2024 Sphinx Competition, a national competition that helps advance the careers of young Black and Latino string musicians.

The concert opens with Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers, a five-minute work inspired by a passage from Homer’s Iliad that Beethoven copied into his notebook. Amaral then takes center stage for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, whose lyrical melodies and demanding solo passages have made it a cornerstone of the violin repertoire.

“Beethoven starts with just a few quiet timpani strokes and builds an entire movement around that rhythm,” said Mills. “Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, like much of Beethoven’s work, really stretches the genre beyond the limits that were conventional at his time and opened the door for many of the great Romantic violin concertos. The violin part calls for tremendous control and expression, and Nathan brings a wonderful range of color to that music.”

Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish,” closes the program with music inspired by Germany’s Rhineland and Cologne Cathedral.

“I first heard Nathan perform when he won the Sphinx Competition in Detroit, and I’m thrilled that Lee has chosen to invite him for this concert,” said Jessica Satava, Executive Director of the Greenville Symphony. “I know our audiences will love his personality and dazzling artistry.”

Program
Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish”

Featured Artists
Lee Mills, conductor
Nathan Amaral, violin

Ticket Information
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto will be presented Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 22 at 3:00 p.m. at Peace Concert Hall. Tickets are on sale through the Peace Center Box Office at 864-467-3000, in person at the box office, or online at greenvillesymphony.org.

About the Greenville Symphony Orchestra

Now in its 79th season, the Greenville Symphony Orchestra is one of the Southeast’s premier professional orchestras, reaching more than 50,000 people annually through innovative performances, community events, and music education. Under the baton of Music Director Lee Mills, now in his third season, the GSO continues to inspire audiences with a fresh approach to both traditional and new works, reflecting the vibrancy of our region.