Courtesy photo

The Nashua Chamber Orchestra, directed by David Feltner, will host its season finale, Beethoven’s Fifth, on May 31 and June 1.

Soloist, Yuxuan (Daniel) Ma, is featured in the R. Strauss First Horn Concerto. In addition to the Beethoven Fifth Symphony, the program also includes Robert Edward Smith’s Variations on America, and Dance of the Blessed Spirits, by Christoph Willibald Gluck.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 31 at Nashua Community College, 505 Amherst St., in Judd Gregg Hall; and at 3 p.m. on June 1 at Milford Town Hall on the Milford Oval.

The opening four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – ta ta ta TAM! – are indisputably the most widely recognized theme in all of Western classical music. Those four authoritative notes exemplify the composer’s (1750–1827) defiant nature in the face of his encroaching deafness, Fate’s inexorable blow. What most people don’t realize is that this 4 note theme springs from an unheard initial pulse: [Mmm]-ta-ta-ta-TAM! It is the conductor’s job to communicate that initial pulse to the audience, and to the orchestra!, with his downbeat.

Watch how Maestro Feltner does that very effectively with his baton, enabling you to viscerally feel the whole theme. Coincidentally, Beethoven’s 4 note theme was also used by

the Allies in WWII as a symbol of victory, since its rhythm signifies the letter “V” in Morse Code. The Symphony evolves from the riveting first movement through the lyrical second movement and mysterious third movement, culminating in the triumphant last movement.

Daniel Ma, a senior at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, studies with Eli Epstein, retired 2nd horn of the Cleveland Orchestra. Winner of numerous

competitions, Mr. Ma, who immigrated from Beijing at age 9, will attend New England Conservatory, in the fall.

Richard Strauss’ (1864–1949) composed his First Horn Concerto as a teenager. With its lyrical themes, lush harmonies and virtuosic flair, this brief, late Romantic concerto

exhibits the soloist’s virtuosity and delights the listener.

Prize winning American composer Robert Edward Smith (b. 1946) composed his Variations on America for the NCO. This will be the work’s premiere performance. He describes his

inspiration: “All of us come together with our different ancestries and ways of viewing things, and unite to make America one beautiful country.”

Christoph Willibald Gluck’s (1714–1787) Dance of the Blessed Spirits, from his opera Orfeo et Euridice, portrays Orpheus ascending to the Elysian fields with, idyllic, serene melodies.