By Elizabeth Carrier | Echo
Imagine you are living a normal life as a child in 1820s Vienna and your mother decides to rent out the spare room upstairs.
The man who moves in appears to be completely mad and flies into fits of rage with little warning. At one point you see him standing completely naked and dripping wet in his window. He is completely deaf and plays music late into the night. This madman is Ludwig van Beethoven.
In the live theatrical theatre concert, "Beethoven Lives Upstairs," young Christoph writes a series of letters with concern and annoyance for his new tenant, Mr. Beethoven. His uncle, Kurt, has more empathy for the tortured artist and responds by saying, "Try to look upon this as a bit of an adventure."
This phenomenal live production was born from an educational audio made for children to encourage interest in classical music. After existing solely as an audio recording it was made into an Emmy-winning film and finally a live theatrical theatre concert.
The current show is produced by Classical Kids Music Education, a nonprofit organization that aims to share old music with young people.
"There have been studies that have indicated that listening to classical music can help children's listening skills, memory and concentration . . . exposing children to classical music can ultimately could help them remain more open-minded a they grow older," said elementary education major and junior Kait Bedel.
"Beethoven Lives Upstairs" is a welcoming, multimedia production you will not want to miss. It delves into the idea of how beautiful Beethoven's music was while he was tormented by his deafness.
Whatever level of fan you may consider yourself of classical music, "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" is designed to entertain all audiences. So, if you have some interest in orchestra music or consider yourself Beethoven's number one fan, this is the show for you.
This show is created by Classical Kids Music Education and performed by the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra. The first portion of this show uses two actors and a narrator as well as portions of some of Beethoven's masterpieces, such as "Fur Elise" and "Moonlight Sonata."
Freshman Hannah Burden, who has been playing the violin since four years old, vouches for the importance of classical music.
"Music in general, especially in today's society, has a lot of negative messages," Burden said. "Classical music is able to express creativity and beauty in a just as powerful way as music with words."
Without being exposed to classical music as a child, Burden does not think she would have as much of an appreciation for the genre. "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" will be performing this Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Rediger Auditorium. Tickets are $20 for adults, $13 for students and free for children 12 and under.
