Astrophysicist, author and art connoisseur Dr. Mario Livio knows that the music of Schoenberg can make listeners uncomfortable.
Still,he is sure that the composer’s piece, “Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night),” will fully win over everyone who hears it performed Thursday.
“The piece is complex, but truly magical,” Livio said. “There is symmetry here on many levels.”
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, through its Explorer Series, delves into the question of what makes something beautiful at the Music Center at Strathmore. Together with guest conductor James Judd of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the BSO will examine in music Livio’s notion that symmetry is at the core of all that is viewed sublime.
The concert showcases Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40,” Bach’s “Orchestral Suite No. 3,” and Schoenberg’s “Verklarte Nacht.”
As part of his visual presentation, Dr. Livio discusses the aesthetic implications of the so-called “Golden Ratio,” the elusive and mysterious proportion that has appeared in art and architecture throughout the centuries.
“Bach and Mozart loved symmetry and used it in their pieces,” said Livio, a senior scientist at Baltimore’s Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute and a best-selling author. “But the challenge is to speak of the symmetry in relation to Schoenberg.”
That symmetry is on many levels, both emotional and romantic, he says, and the collaboration with the BSO has been a wonderful experience for him.
“This weekend’s program … paired with Dr. Livio’s accessible insight, demonstrate how important the concept of symmetry is to understanding beauty, and by extension, classical music,” said Jeremy Rothman, the BSO’s artistic administrator. “The BSO is really fortunate to have partnered with Dr. Livio, who brings his scientific expertise as well as infectious enthusiasm to our Explorer Series.”
BSO EXPLORER Series
Symmetry and the Golden Ratio
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Venue: The Music Center atStrathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda
Tickets: $43 to $80
Info: 877.BSO.1444, www.strathmore.org
